The COVID Project
The record
- Jurisdiction
- Maine
- Level
- State
- Authority
- Me. Const. art. IV, pt. 3, secs. 2 and 16 (emergency legislation)
- Issued
- 2021-03-25 Mar. 25, 2021
- Effective
- 2021-03-25 (emergency measure: 'this legislation takes effect when approved') (read as 2021-03-25)
- End
- standing (read as 2021-09-30)
- In force
- Standing since Mar. 25, 2021 (a statutory duty; in force throughout the six quarters)
- Quarters
- 2021 Q12021 Q22021 Q3
2020 Q22020 Q32020 Q42021 Q12021 Q22021 Q3
- Limitation types
- Emergency declarationHealth care ordersOther
- Addressees
- the Governor (exercise of emergency powers); health care providers and facilities; insurers and pharmacies (Parts A, B and D)
- Character
- statutory duty
- Collection
- Standing duties: Maine DUT-ME
Operative words
E. In dealing with a declared state of emergency under this subsection, the Governor shall ensure that: (1) Medical privacy and confidentiality requirements, including but not limited to requirements under the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, are followed; and (2) Health care services and surgeries are not considered to be nonessential services.
Penalty
n/a (a limitation on the Governor's powers and a patient-rights statute); the enforcement provisions of 37-B M.R.S. sec. 786 (Ex. DUT-ME-004) continued to apply to every order under sec. 742
What it required
The Legislature, sitting in the emergency's thirteenth month, amended the Governor's emergency powers to require that health care services and surgeries never be treated as nonessential in a declared emergency, confirmed the remainder of the sec. 742 regime under which every order in force on March 25, 2021 continued to bind, and enacted a COVID-19 patient bill of rights (cost-sharing for testing and vaccination) with a pharmacist delegation provision for vaccine administration.
Retrieval noteThe chaptered law as printed by the Legislature ('LAW WITHOUT GOVERNOR'S SIGNATURE MARCH 25, 2021, CHAPTER 28'); the bill's status page records 'Emergency Enacted, Mar 25, 2021; Governor's Action: Emergency Unsigned, Mar 25, 2021.' Part C is the only amendment of the emergency-powers statute during the period after P.L. 2019, c. 617 (Ex. ME-003); it presupposes and leaves intact the Governor's powers under sec. 742(1)(C) and the enforcement provisions of sec. 786. The compiled chapter (Ex. DUT-ME-004) carries the enacted paragraph with the history note 'PL 2021, c. 28, Pt. C, sec. 1 (NEW).'.