The Maine legislature introduced a bill that would prohibit any entity from reselling abstracts and deeds in digital form.
The bill, SP 638, was introduced by Sen. Douglas Thomas, R-Somerset County, states that no one may resell digital abstracts and copies of deeds.
A person requesting 1,000 or more digital abstracts and copies of consecutive deeds records would have to provide to the register of deeds a signed written statement asserting that the records would not be sold or offered for sale.
A violation of the bill would be considered a civil violation and a fine of no more than $1,000 could be adjudged. A person who executes a statement containing a false statement would commit unsworn falsification under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 17-A, section 453.
The prohibition would not apply to commercial activity for which the exchange of copies of abstracts and deeds records is incidental to the activity, such as real estate closings.