An Act To Provide Equity in the State Contribution to County Jail Expenses
Maine Legislature, Session 122, LD 0106
Committee: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Sponsors: FLETCHER, COURTNEY, BROWNE, FITTS, NUTTING, RICHARDSON, RINES
Amends: 17-A MRSA §1252, 34-A MRSA §1210-B

Legislative Document 
No. 106 
H.P.82 
House of Representatives, January 11,2005 
An Act To Provide Equity in the State Contribution to County Jail 
Expenses 
Reference to the Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety suggested and ordered 
printed. 
Presented by Representative FLETCHER of Winslow. 
Cosponsored by Senator COURTNEY of York and 
/J'l~ m·711p£~ 
MllLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Representatives: BROWNE of Vassalboro, FITTS of Pittsfield, McCORMICK of West 
Gardiner, NUTTING of Oakland, RICHARDSON of Skowhegan, RINES of Wiscasset. 
Printed on recycled paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 17-A MRSA §l252. sub-§I. "A and B. as enacted by PL 
1989, c. 693, §5, are amended to read: 
A. 
For a 
b*ass-g-9~ Class E crime the court must specify a 
county jail as the place of imprisonment. 
B. 
For a Class A, Class B 9~L Class C or Class D crime the 
court must: 
(1) 
Specify a county jail as the place of imprisonment 
if the term of imprisonment is 9 Q months or less; or 
(2) 
Commit the person to the Department of Corrections 
if the term of imprisonment is more than 9 Q months. 
Sec. 2. 17-A MRSA §1252. sub-§7. as enacted by PL 1989, c. 
693, §7, is amended to read: 
7. 
If a sentence to a term of imprisonment in a county jail 
is consecutive to or is to be followed by a sentence to a term of 
imprisonment in the custody of the Department of Corrections, the 
court imposing either sentence may order that both be served ill 
the custody of the Department of Corrections. 
If a court imposes 
consecutive terms of imprisonment 
f9~-~~~~-9~-~~~~-~-e~imes 
and the aggregate length of the terms imposed is 
9He--~a~ Q 
months or more, the court may shall order that they be served in 
the custody of the Department of Corrections. 
Sec. 3. 34-A MRSA §1210-B is enacted to read: 
§1210-B. 
Funding 
The 
Legislature shall annually appropriate to 
each jail 
authority an amount sufficient to supplement amounts distributed 
pursuant to section l210-A so that the total from both funding 
sources reimburses the jail authority for: 
1. 
Prisoners committed to county facilities. 
The jail 
authority's 
average 
total 
cost 
of 
the 
support 
of 
prisoners 
committed 
by 
court 
to 
that 
jail 
authority's 
correctional 
facilities. 
The average total cost of the support of prisoners 
committed by court to a jail authority's correctional facilities 
must be based on the average daily cost of supporting such 
prisoners in those facilities; and 
2. Prisoners housed at county facilities. 
The full cost 
incurred by the jail authority for the support of prisoners 
committed to the Department of Corrections but who, as a result 
Page l-LR0850(1) 
of violation of probation or parole, are housed in that jail 
authority's correctional facilities. 
for purposes of this section, "jail authority" means 
the. 
governmental authority responsible for the operation of a jail, 
whether 
a 
county 
government 
or 
the 
Lincoln 
and 
Sagadahoc 
Multicounty Jail Authority. 
SUMMARY 
This bill provides that persons sentenced to more than 6 
months 
incarceration must 
be 
committed 
to 
the 
Department 
of 
Corrections. 
Persons 
sentenced 
to 
less 
than 
months 
are 
committed to county jail. 
The current breakpoint is 9 months. 
This bill also requires that the Legislature appropriate amounts 
to supplement distributions from the County Jail Prisoner Support 
and 
Community 
Corrections 
Fund 
so 
that the 
combined 
fundino 
reimburses the county for the average total cost of the support 
of prisoners committed by court to that county's correctional 
facilities 
and 
the 
full 
cost 
of 
the 
support 
of 
prisoners 
commi tted to the Department of Corrections but who, as a resul t 
of violation of probation or parole, are housed in the county 
jail.