An Act To Increase Parental Responsibility for Restitution
Maine Legislature, Session 121, LD 1139
Committee: Judiciary
Sponsors: McKENNEY, TURNER
Amends: 14 MRSA §304, 15 MRSA §3314

12lst MAINE LEGISLATURE 
Legislative Document 
No. 1139 
H.P.842 
House of Representatives, March 4, 2003 
An Act To Increase Parental Responsibility for Restitution 
Reference to the Committee on Judiciary suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Representative McKENNEY of Cumberland. 
Cosponsored by Senator TURNER of Cumberland. 
Printed on recycled paper 
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MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 14 MRSA §304, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. C, 
§l and affected by Pt. E, §2, is amended to read: 
§304. 
Liability of parents or legal guardians for damage by 
children 
If a minor who is between 7 and 17 years of age willfully or 
maliciously causes damage to property or injury to a person and 
~he-m4Re£-~~~~-1~a&le-fer-~£€-~~--~~~-~~-~he 
miBer-weFe-aB-aa~l~-aBa the minor lives with that minor's parents 
or legal guardians, the parents or legal guardians are jointly 
and severally liable with the minor for that damage or injury in 
an amount not exceeding 
$8QQ $10,000. 
This section does not 
relieve the minor from personal liability for that damage or 
injury. 
Sec. 2. 15 MRSA §3314, sub-§I, as amended by PL 2001, c. 696, 
§§3 and 4, is further amended to read: 
I. 
Dispositional alternatives. 
When 
a juvenile has been 
adjudicated as having committed a juvenile crime, the court shall 
enter 
a 
dispositional 
order 
containing 
one 
or 
more 
of 
the 
following alternatives. 
A. 
The court may allow the juvenile to remain in the legal 
custody of his the juvenile's parents or a guardian under 
such conditions as 
the court may 
impose. 
Conditions may 
include participation by the juvenile, his the juvenile's 
parents or legal guardian in treatment services aimed at the 
rehabilitation of the juvenile and improvement of the home 
environment. 
A-1. 
Whether the juvenile remains at home or resides in an 
appropriate placement outside of the home, 
the court may 
order the parents or legal guardian of the juvenile to 
personally 
participate 
in 
counseling, 
education 
and 
treatment reasonably available in the parents' 
or 
legal 
guardian's area as specified in a plan set out in the court 
order. 
If the court orders the parents or legal guardian to 
participate in treatment under this subsection, the court 
shall also order the parents or legal guardian to use any 
available 
insurance 
or 
other 
resource 
to 
cover 
the 
counseling, 
education 
and 
treatment 
or 
to 
pay 
for 
the 
treatment 
unless 
the 
court 
determines 
that 
such 
a 
requirement 
would 
create 
an 
excessive 
hardship 
on 
the 
parents or legal guardian or other dependent of the parents 
or legal guardian, in which case the court shall order the 
parents or legal guardian to pay a reasonable amount toward 
the cost, the amount to be determined by the court. 
• 
B. 
The court may require a juvenile to participate in a 
supervised work 
or service program. 
Such 
a 
program may 
provide restitution to the victim by requiring the juvenile 
to work or provide a service for the victim, or to make 
monetary restitution to the victim from money earned from 
such a program. Such a supervised work or service program 
may be required as a condition of probation if: 
(1) 
The juvenile is not deprived of 
is 
appropriate 
to 
the 
juvenile's 
specific rehabilitative goals; 
the schooling that 
age, 
needs 
and 
(2) 
The supervised work program is of a constructive 
nature 
designed 
to 
promote 
rehabilitation 
and 
is 
appropriate to the age level and physical ability of 
the juvenile; and 
(3) 
The supervised work program assignment is made for 
a period of time not exceeding 180 days. 
A juvenile participating in a supervised 
program, 
performing 
community 
service 
restitution under this section or section 
subject 
to 
Title 
39-A, 
Part 
1, 
the 
Compensation Act of 1992. 
work or service 
or 
providing 
3301 may not be 
Maine 
Workers' 
C-l. 
The court may commit a juvenile to the custody of the 
Department of Human Services when the court has determined 
that 
reasonable 
efforts 
have 
been 
made 
to 
prevent 
or 
eliminate the need for removal of the juvenile from the 
juvenile's home or that no reasonable efforts are necessary 
because of the existence of an aggravating factor as defined 
in 
Title 
22, 
section 
4002, 
subsection 
I-B, 
and 
that 
continuation therein would be contrary to the welfare of the 
juvenile. 
The 
court may not enter an order under this 
paragraph 
unless 
the 
parents 
have 
had 
notice 
and 
an 
opportunity to be heard at the dispositional hearing. 
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the court may 
not commit a juvenile to the custody of the Department of 
Human Services unless such notice has been served on the 
parents, custodians and the Department of Human Services in 
accordance with District Court civil rules at least 10 days 
prior to the dispositional hearing. 
A party may waive this 
time requirement if the waiver is written and voluntarily 
and knowingly executed in court before a judge. 
The Department of Human Services shall provide for the care 
and placement of the juvenile as for other children in the 
department's 
custody 
pursuant 
to 
Services and Child Protection Act, 
subchapter VII 1. 
the 
Child 
and 
Family 
Title 22, chapter 1071, 
The 
court 
may 
impose 
conditions 
that 
may 
include 
participation by the juvenile or the juvenile's parents or 
legal 
guardian 
in 
treatment 
services 
aimed 
at 
the 
rehabilitation of the juvenile, reunification of the family 
and improvement of the home environment. 
C-2. 
The court may commit a juvenile to the custody of a 
relative or other person when the court determines that this 
is in the best interest of the juvenile. 
The court may not 
enter an order under this paragraph unless the parents have 
had 
notice 
and 
an 
opportunity 
to 
be 
heard 
at 
the 
dispositional hearing. 
E. 
The court may require the juvenile to make restitution 
for any damage to the victim or other authorized claimant as 
compensation for economic loss upon reasonable conditions 
that the court determines appropriate. 
For the purposes of 
this paragraph, the definitions in Title l7-A, section 1322 
and the provisions of Title l7-A, sections 1324, l328-A and 
1329 
apply, 
except 
that 
section 
1329, 
subsection 
3, 
paragraph A does not apply. 
E-l. 
If after ordering restitution pursuant to paragraph E 
the court subsequently finds that the earning capacity of 
the 
juvenile is insufficient to 
pay restitution to 
the 
victim, the court, in the same proceeding, may order one or 
both of 
the 
juvenile's 
custodial 
parents 
or 
any 
legal 
guardian to make restitution to the victim of the offense 
for which the juvenile was adjudicated. 
For the purposes of 
this paragraph, the definitions in Title 17-A, section 1322 
and the provisions of Title l7-A, sections 1323, 1324, 1327, 
1328-A and 1329 apply. 
The amount of restitution that may 
be ordered by the court is not subject to the limitations of 
Title 14, section 304. 
F. 
The court may commit the juvenile to a Department of 
Corrections 
juvenile 
correctional 
facility. 
Whenever 
a 
juvenile 
is 
committed 
to 
a 
Department 
of 
Corrections 
juvenile correctional facility, 
the court shall determine 
whether 
reasonable efforts have been made 
to prevent or 
eliminate the need for 
removal of the juvenile from the 
juvenile's home or that no reasonable efforts are necessary 
because of the existence of an aggravating factor as defined 
in Title 
22, 
section 4002, 
subsection 1-8, 
and whether 
continuation in the juvenile's home would be contrary to the 
welfare of the juvenile. 
This determination does not affect 
whether the court orders a commitment to 
Corrections juvenile correctional facility, 
to be governed by section 3313. 
a Department of 
which continues 
G. 
Except for a violation of section 3103, subsection 1, 
paragraph D, the court may impose a fine, subject to Title 
17-A, 
sections 
1301 
to 
1304. 
For 
the 
purpose 
of this 
section, 
juvenile 
offenses 
defined 
in 
section 
3103, 
subsection 1, paragraphs Band C are deemed Class E crimes. 
H. 
The court may commit the juvenile to a Department of 
Corrections juvenile correctional facility and order that 
the disposition be suspended or may commit the juvenile for 
a period of detention that may not exceed 30 days, with or 
without an underlying suspended disposition to a Department 
of 
Corrections 
juvenile 
correctional 
facility, 
which 
detention must be served concurrently with any other period 
of detention previously imposed and not fully discharged or 
imposed on the same date but may be served intermittently as 
the 
court 
may 
order 
and 
must 
be 
ordered 
served 
in 
a 
detention facility approved or operated by the Department of 
Corrections exclusively for juveniles. The court may order 
such a disposition to be served as a part of and with a 
period of probation that is subject to such provisions of 
Ti tIe 17 -A, section 1204 as the court may order and that 
must be administered pursuant to Title 34-A, 
chapter 
5, 
subchapter 
~v ~. Revocation of probation is governed by the 
procedure contained in subsection 2. 
Any disposition under 
this paragraph is subject to Title 17-A, 
section 1253, 
subsection 
2, 
but 
not 
to 
Title 
17-A, 
section 
1253, 
subsection 3-B, 4, 5 or 8. 
I. 
The 
court 
may 
order 
the 
discharged. 
juvenile 
unconditionally 
The court may invoke its contempt powers as established in the 
Maine Rules of Criminal Procedure, Rule 42 to enforce any order 
entered pursuant to this subsection. 
If the court after notice 
and hearing, 
in accordance with the Maine 
Rules of Criminal 
Procedure, Rule 42, holds a person in contempt for violating a 
court order issued pursuant to this section, the court may impose 
a fine of not more than $1,000 plus any applicable surcharges and 
assessments; impose a term of incarceration in jail for a period 
of not more than 30 days; or order the parents, legal guardian or 
custodian to perform community service with the juvenile. 
Before a hearing is held that may result in incarceration for a 
person 
alleged 
to 
have 
violated 
a 
court 
order 
under 
this 
subsection, the court shall advise that person of the right to be 
represented by counsel and that the court may appoint counsel if 
the court finds that person indigent. 
SUMMARY 
This bill increases the limit of liability from $800 to 
$10,000 for a parent or guardian for damage caused by that parent 
or guardian's minor child. 
It provides that when a juvenile has 
been adjudicated as having committed a juvenile crime and the 
court orders restitution and subsequently finds that the earning 
capacity of the juvenile is insufficient to pay restitution to 
the victim, 
the court may order a 
custodial parent or legal 
guardian to make restitution to the victim of the offense for 
which the juvenile was adjudicated. 
It also provides that a 
court may order the parents or legal guardian of a juvenile who 
has been adjudicated as having committed a 
juvenile crime to 
personally participate in counseling, 
education and treatment 
reasonably available in the parents' or legal guardian's area. 
Finally, it permits a court to invoke its contempt powers to 
enforce an order entered regarding dispositional alternatives for 
juveniles.