An Act To Amend the Laws Regarding County Government
Maine Legislature, Session 121, LD 1216
Committee: State and Local Government
Sponsors: MAYO, BOWEN, BULL, DUNLAP, JACKSON, PINGREE, SMITH, SUSLOVIC, GILMAN
Amends: 30-A MRSA §9, 30-A MRSA §251, 30-A MRSA §252, 30-A MRSA §1321, 30-A MRSA §1322

Legislative Document 
No. 1216 
H.P.890 
House of Representatives, March 6, 2003 
An Act To Amend the Laws Regarding County Government 
Reference to the Committee on State and Local Government suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Representati ve BARSTOW of Gorham. 
Cosponsored by Senator MAYO of Sagadahoc and 
!7J~/J7.~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Representatives: BOWEN of Rockport, BULL of Freeport, DUNLAP of Old Town, 
JACKSON of Fort Kent, PINGREE of North Haven, SMITH of Monmouth, SUSLOVIC of 
Portland, Senator: GILMAN of Cumberland. 
Printed on recycled paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 30-A MRSA §9 is enacted to read: 
§9. 
Residency requirement 
To be eligible to be elected to the office of register of 
probate or the office of register of deeds, a person must be a 
resident of that county. 
Sec. 2. 30-AMRSA§151.sub-§I. as enacted by PL 1987, c. 737, 
Pt. A, §2 and Pt. C, §106 and amended by PL 1989, c. 6; c. 9, §2; 
and c. 104, Pt. C, §§8 and 10, is further amended to read: 
1. 
Qualifications. 
The county treasurer must be a resident 
of 
the 
county 
and 
have 
a 
bachelor's 
degree 
in 
accounting, 
business 
or 
a 
related 
field. 
Neither 
the 
Attorney General, 
district attorney, clerk of courts, sheriff of the county nor any 
deputy sheriff may be county treasurer. 
Sec. 3. 30-A MRSA §251. as enacted by PL 1987, c. 737, Pt. A, 
§2 and Pt. C, §106 and amended by PL 1989, c. 6; c. 9, §2; and c. 
104, Pt. C, §§8 and 10, is further amended to read: 
§251. 
Appointment; qualifications 
District attorneys 
6Ra±±--ae-~~~-~-~~~~-iR--tRi6 
6eetieaT--~-hey--6Rall are appointed by the Attorney General and 
enter office on the first day of January following tReil" the 
gubernatorial election. 
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2. 
Qualifications. 
Only attorneys admitted to the general 
practice of law in this State and who reside in the prosecutorial 
district may be e±eeteG-e£ appointed district attorney. 
Removal 
from the prosecutorial district vacates the office. 
3. 
Term of office. 
The 
term of office for 
a district 
attorney is 4 years, except when one is e±eetea appointed to fill 
Page l-LR0619(1) 
\.. 
out an unexpired term, in which case it is for the remainder of 
the unexpired term. 
Sec. 4. 30-A MRSA §252, sub-§l, as enacted by PL 1987, c. 737, 
Pt. A, §2 and Pt. C, §106 and amended by PL 1989, c. 6; c. 9, §2; 
and c. 104, Pt. C, §§8 and 10, is further amended to read: 
1. 
Vacancies 
caused 
by expiration of 
term. 
vacancies 
occurring by expiration of the term of office saall-ae are filled 
by eleetieB appointment in that year as provided in section 251. 
Sec. 5. 30-A MRSA §252, sub-§2, as amended by PL 1995, c. 245, 
@5, is further amended to read: 
2. 
Vacancies caused by other reasons. 
When Be--pe-r-so-n--is 
eleetea-eE a vacancy happens in the office of district attorney, 
other than as provided in subsection 1, the GeveEBeE Attorney 
General shall appoint a competent attorney, 
a resident of the 
prosecutorial 
district 
affected, 
to 
serve 
as 
a 
substitute 
district attorney until the first day of January following the 
next biennial election. 
At that election, a person saall must be 
eleetea appointed to the office of district attorney to serve for 
the remainder of the unexpired term. 
When the office of district 
attorney becomes vacant after the first day of October in the 2nd 
year after the eleetieB appointment of a district attorney under 
section 251, 
a--&ew-~~~-~~~-~-ee--aela the Attorney 
General may not appoint 
a 
new district attorney to fill the 
vacancy, but the substitute district attorney shall serve for the 
remainder of the unexpired term. 
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Sec. 6. 30-A MRSA §§253 and 254. as enac ted by PL 1987, c. 
737, Pt. A, §2 and Pt. C, §106 and amended by PL 1989, c. 6; c. 
9, §2; and c. 104, Pt. C, §§8 and 10, are further amended to read: 
§253. Military or naval service; substitutes 
Whenever a district attorney during the district attorney's 
term of office in time of war, 
contemplated war or emergency, 
enlists, enrolls, is called or drafted into the military service 
of 
the United States, 
that district attorney is not 
aeeffiea 
considered to have thereby resigned from or abandoned the office; 
nor is the district attorney removable from that office during 
military serviceL 
except that the term of office may not be held 
to have been lengthened because of this section. 
From the time 
of induction into service, the district attorney is regarded as 
on leave of absence without pay from the office and the GeveFBeF 
Attorney General shall appoint a competent attorney, a resident 
of the same prosecutorial district, to fill the office while the 
district attorney is in the federal service, but not for a longer 
period than the remaining portion of the district attorney's 
term. 
During 
the period of military or 
naval 
service, 
the 
Treasurer of State shall pay to the substitute attorney a salary 
at the same rate as the rate of pay of the district attorney and 
amounts so paid saall must be deducted from the salary of the 
district 
attorney. 
The 
attorney 
so 
appointed 
to 
fill 
the 
temporary vacancy has the title of "substitute district attorney" 
and possesses all the rights and powers and is sUbject to all the 
duties and obligations of the district attorney. 
§254. 
Prosecutorial districts 
1. 
Prosecutorial District Number 1. 
There saall-Be is one 
district attorney for York County, which saa-l-l--be is known as 
"Prosecutorial District Number 1." 
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2. 
Prosecutorial District Number 2. 
There saall-be is one 
district attorney for Cumberland County, which saall-Be is known 
as 
"Prosecutorial District Number 
2." 
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3. 
Prosecutorial District Number 3. 
There sRall-Be is one 
district attorney for Oxford, Franklin and Androscoggin Counties, 
which saall-Be are known as "Prosecutorial District Number 3." 
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4. 
Prosecutorial District Number 4. 
There saall-Be is one 
district attorney for Kennebec and Somerset Counties, which saall 
be are known as "Prosecutorial District Number 4." 
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5. 
Prosecutorial District Number 5. 
There saall-be is one 
district attorney for Penobscot and Piscataquis Counties, which 
saa-l-l--&e are known as "Prosecutor ial District Number 5." 
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6. 
ProsecutoriaI District Number 6. 
There sBall-se is one 
district 
attorney 
for 
Sagadahoc, 
Lincoln, 
Knox 
and 
Waldo 
Counties, 
which 
sBaJ.~--se are known as "Prosecutorial District 
Number 6." 
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7. 
Prosecutorial District Number 7. 
There sBall-se is one 
district attorney 
for 
Hancock 
and 
Washington Counties, 
which 
sRa~~--se are known as "Prosecutorial District Number 7." 
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8. 
ProsecutoriaI District Number 8. 
There sBall-se is one 
distr ict attorney for Aroostook County, which sBal1--se is known 
as 
"Prosecutorial District Number 
8." 
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Sec. 7. 30-A MRS A §1321, sub-§§l and 2, as enacted by PL 1987, 
c. 737, Pt. A, §2 and Pt. C, §106 and amended by PL 1989, c. 6; 
c. 9, §2; and c. 104, Pt. C, §§8 and 10, is further amended to 
read: 
1. 
County 
commissioners. 
The 
county 
commissioners 
may 
determine 
tBat--tBe--aseptiea--eE--a--eeHaty--eBaFteF--sBeHls--Be 
eeasise£ed--eF that the 
revision of 
a 
county charter already 
adopted under this chapter should be considered and, by order, 
provide for the establishment of a charter commission to carry 
out that purpose as provided in this chapter. 
If a county has 
not adopted 
a 
county charter, 
the county commissioners shall 
provide for the establishment of a charter commission for the 
purpose of preparing a county charter. 
A county must adopt a 
county charter by January 1, 2006. 
2. 
Petition by voters. 
On the written petition of a number 
of voters equal to at least 10°0 of the number of votes cast in 
the 
county 
at 
the 
last 
gubernatorial 
election, 
the 
county 
commissioners shall, by order, provide for the establishment of a 
charter commission for the 
pFepa~a~i-Gn·-eF revision of a county 
charter in the form and manner provided in this chapter. 
Sec. 8. 30-A MRSA §1321, sub-§3. 1[B, as enacted by PL 1987, c. 
737, Pt. A, 
§2 and Pt. C, §106 and amended by PL 1989, c. 6; c. 
9, §2; and c. 104, Pt. C, §§8 and 10, is further amended to read: 
B. 
The clerk shall prepare petition forms at the county's 
expense. 
The petition forms sRall must be printed on paper 
of uniform size and may consist of as many individual sheets 
as are reasonably necessary. 
(1) 
Petition forms 
sRall must carry the 
following 
legend in bold lettering at the top of the face of each 
form. 
"County of 
"Each of the undersigned voters respectfully 
the 
county 
commissioners 
to 
establish 
a 
commission 
for 
the 
purpose 
of 
revising 
the 
charter eF-~Fe~aFiR43-a-ReW-ee1:iRty-eRaFteF." 
requests 
charter 
county 
Each signature to a petition must be in ink or other 
indelible 
instrument 
and 
must 
be 
followed 
by 
the 
residence of the voter with street and number, if any. 
No 
petition 
may 
contain 
any 
party 
or 
political 
designation. 
( 2 ) 
form 
days 
The clerk shall note the date of each petition 
issued. 
All petitions must be filed within 120 
of the date of issue or they are void. 
(3) 
Each petition form sRal;!' must have printed on its 
back an affidavit to be executed by the circulator, 
stating that the circulator personally circulated the 
form, the number of signatures on the form, that all 
the 
signatures 
were 
signed 
ln 
the 
circulator's 
presence, 
that 
the 
circulator 
believes 
them 
to 
be 
genuine signatures of 
the persons 
whose 
names 
they 
purport to be, that each signer has signed no more than 
one petition and that each signer had an opportunity to 
read the petition before signing. 
Before filing the 
petitions under subparagraph (4), the circulator shall 
submit 
them 
to 
the 
registrar 
of 
each 
municipality 
concerned for certification according to Title 21-A, 
section 354, subsection 7, paragraph B. 
(4) 
Petition forms 
sRa;!,;!, 
must be assembled as 
one 
instrument and filed at one time with the clerk. 
The 
clerk shall note the date of filing on the forms. 
Sec. 9. 30-A MRSA §1321. sub-§5. ~A. as enacted by PL 1987, c. 
737, Pt. A, §2 and Pt. c, §106 and amended by PL 1989, c. 6; c. 
9, §2; and c. 104, Pt. C, §§8 and 10, is further amended to read: 
A. 
The question to be submitted to the voters saall must be 
in substance as follows. 
"Saall Do you favor establishing a charter commission 
ae--e-s-t-a.a-lisaea for the purpose of revising the county 
charter e!'-estaalisaiB~-a-Bew-ee1:lBty-eaa!'te!'?" 
Sec. 10. 30-A MRSA §1322, sub-§6, as amended by PL 1991, c. 
862, §9, is further amended to read: 
6. 
Election. 
When the final report is filed, the county 
commissioners shall order the proposed new charter or charter 
revision to be submitted to the vete!'s-e~--t~~~~-~&e-BeHE 
!'e~1:lla!'-e~-~~~-~~~~-~~&~i&&-aela Legislature for final 
approval at least 60 days after the final report is filed. 
SUMMARY 
This bill requires all counties that have not adopted a 
county charter to adopt a charter by January 1, 2006. 
It also 
sets residency requirements for the register of probate and the 
register of 
deeds 
and 
minimum qualifications 
for 
the 
county 
treasurer. 
It also requires that district attorneys be appointed.