Skip to main content

ME LD 2082

Maine LD 2082 (An Act to Regulate the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Providing Certain Mental Health Services)

Prohibits providing, advertising, or offering therapy or psychotherapy services to the public - including via internet-based AI - unless delivered by a Maine-licensed professional. Permits AI only for administrative or supplementary support under the licensed professional's full responsibility, with written disclosure and informed consent where sessions are recorded or transcribed.

Jurisdiction

Maine

Enacted

Apr 13, 2026

Effective

TBD

Enforcement

Maine Department of Professional and Financial Regulation; violations also constitute violations of the Maine Unfair Trade Practices Act

Signed into law April 13, 2026 (132nd Legislature, HP 1397). Non-emergency law; takes effect 90 days after adjournment of the legislative session.

Maine Legislature

Why It Matters

Establishes that AI may not stand in for a licensed clinician in delivering therapy, confining AI to administrative or supplementary roles under professional responsibility.

Recent Developments

Enacted April 13, 2026.

At a Glance

Applies to

Mental Health AppAI Companion

Who Must Comply

  • Any person providing therapy/psychotherapy services to the Maine public
  • Licensed mental health professionals using AI

Safety Provisions

  • No person may provide, advertise, or offer therapy/psychotherapy to the public (including via internet-based AI) unless services are provided by a licensed professional
  • Licensed professionals may use AI only for administrative or supplementary support, retaining full responsibility for all interactions, outputs, and data use
  • Written disclosure and informed consent required where AI supplementary support records or transcribes sessions (use, storage, retention, training, deletion of data)
  • AI may not make independent therapeutic decisions
  • Exception for IRB-approved research conducted under federal human-subjects protections

Exemptions

IRB-approved research

AI-based interventions used solely within research projects approved by an Institutional Review Board

  • • IRB-approved per Title 22 sec. 1711-C(6)(G)
  • • Compliant with federal human-subjects protections

Compliance & Enforcement

Penalties

$10K/violation

View on map

Maine

Focus Areas

Mental health & crisis

Cite This

APA

Maine. (2026). Maine LD 2082 (An Act to Regulate the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Providing Certain Mental Health Services).

Related Regulations

In Effect US-ME

ME LD 1727

Consumer protection law requiring disclosure that users are interacting with AI, not a human. Common precursor to crisis-harm regulation.

Failed US-ME

ME LD 2162

Failed Maine bill that would have prohibited deployers from making AI chatbots with human-like features or social AI companions available to minors, and required deployers to detect, respond to, report, and mitigate situations where minors indicate intent to self-harm or harm others.

In Effect US-TX

TX Healthcare AI Law

Requires healthcare practitioners using AI for diagnosis to review all AI-generated records and disclose AI use to patients. Mandates EHR data localization (Texas patient data must be physically stored in US). Applies to covered entities and third-party vendors.

Pending US-CA

CA SB 903

Would bar the use of AI to record or transcribe psychotherapy sessions, or to triage/screen a person for psychotherapy, without the patient's informed consent; prohibit advertising or offering psychotherapy services through companion chatbots (including claiming a chatbot is a therapist); and bar AI from making independent therapeutic decisions.

Pending US-LA

LA Healthcare AI Act

Regulates use of artificial intelligence by healthcare providers in Louisiana. Permits AI for administrative tasks but prohibits AI from making treatment/diagnosis decisions without licensed professional review, directly interacting with patients on treatment matters, or generating therapeutic recommendations without professional approval.

Enacted US-IL

IL SB 315

Frontier-model AI safety law requiring large AI developers to publish and annually update catastrophic-risk frameworks, undergo independent third-party safety audits, report safety incidents to the state, and protect whistleblowers. Would be the first US law mandating independent third-party audits of frontier AI developers.

Last updated June 20, 2026. Verify against primary sources before relying on this information.