Gov. Janet Mills vetoed a bill Friday that would have sealed some criminal records from the public and created a process to do so automatically, rather than by a judge’s ruling.

In her decision, Mills said that the legislation would cause some records to be sealed “without regard” for victims who may object to their sealing or whether there is public interest that the records in question remain accessible.

Under current law, a person with criminal convictions that meet certain requirements can file a form to request that those records be sealed. That is decided by a judge after prosecutors have an opportunity to object.

Criminal records sealed under court order are not erased, but they are not disclosed to third parties, such as employers, landlords and lenders.

The bill, L.D. 1911, would have expanded the list of eligible convictions to include all misdemeanor crimes, with significant exceptions, including convictions for sexual assault, stalking and cruelty to animals, and would make the entire process automatic.

Supporters of the bill have argued that personal privacy should outweigh public disclosure in some instances, and that even minor criminal convictions on a person’s record can have long-term unintended consequences.

However, Mills, who previously served as Maine’s attorney general, argued that the bill’s sealing of domestic violence assault records would be “plainly contrary to the public interest” and that the state would have to hire seven employees to seal existing records, “much of this work by hand.”

“I also share the concerns expressed by the Maine Press Association and others that automatically sealing criminal records unduly burdens the First Amendment,” Mills stated.

She said that the process of sealing records “should be transparent, and records documenting this work should remain available and subject to public scrutiny” unless “compelling public interest exists to justify secrecy,” such as in juvenile cases.

“Our criminal justice system has many pressing needs, and I question whether the work required by this bill would burden an already overworked Judiciary and detract from efforts to protect public safety,” Mills concluded.