An Act To Decrease Correctional Costs and To Increase the Number of Probation Officers
Maine Legislature, Session 122, LD 0500
Committee: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Sponsors: FAIRCLOTH, RICHARDSON, PELLETIER-SIMPSON
Amends: 34-A MRSA §3036-B

Legislative Document 
No. 500 
H.P.375 
House of Representatives, February 1, 2005 
An Act To Decrease Correctional Costs and To Increase the 
Number of Probation Officers 
Reference to the Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety suggested and ordered 
printed. 
Presented by Representative FAIRCLOTH of Bangor. 
Cosponsored by Speaker RICHARDSON of Brunswick and 
Representative: PELLETIER-SIMPSON of Auburn. 
Printed un recycled paper 
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MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. I. 34-A MRSA §3036-B is enacted to read: 
§3036-B. 
GPS tracking releaSe program 
The 
commissioner shall establish by rule 
a 
GPS 
tracking 
release program, referred to in this section as "the program," in 
accordance with this section. 
For purposes of this section, "GPS 
tracking" means 
a 
mobile electronic tracking system employing 
global 
positioning 
system 
technology 
that 
allows 
the 
exact 
location of the person tracked to be monitored remotely at all 
times. 
1. 
Structure of program. 
The program must be available to 
prisoners eligible under subsection 2 who volunteer to accept the 
conditions of release under subsection 3. 
2. Eligible prisoners. 
A prisoner who meets the criteria 
under 
this 
subsection, 
regardless 
of 
when 
sentenced 
or 
incarcerated, is eligible to volunteer for the program. 
The 
prisoner must: 
At 
Not be serving a 
sen~nce for or have a criminal histQKY 
involving any violent crime or sexual offense as determined 
by the commissioner by rule. 
The rules must exclude from 
eligibility a prisoner serving a sentence for or having a 
criminal history that includes an offense against a person 
described 
in 
Title 
l7-A, 
chapter 
9; 
any 
other 
crime 
involving violence or the threat of violence or involving 
the 
use 
or 
possession 
of 
a 
dangerous 
weapon 
in 
its 
commission; 
or 
any 
sexual 
offense, 
including, 
but 
not 
limited to, an offense described in Title 17-A, chapter 11 
or 12; 
B. 
Haye earned good time and not lost or failed to earn due 
to 
bad 
behavior 
good 
time 
for 
which 
the 
prisoner 
was 
eligible; 
C. Have fewer than 36 months left to serve in prison; and 
D. 
Have 
served 
more 
than half 
the prisoner's 
term 
of 
imprisonment. 
3. Conditions of release. 
A prisoner released under the 
program must agree to have a GPS tracking device secured to the 
prisoner's 
person 
in 
accordance 
with 
rules 
adopted 
by 
the 
commissioner 
for 
a 
period egual 
to 
the prisoner's 
remaining 
prison term plus 2 additional months. 
Page l-LR0939(1) 
4. Program design; contract. 
The department shall, through 
a 
competitive 
bidding process, 
select 
and 
contract with 
an 
appropriate firm with expertise in GPS tracking technology and 
systems to create a GPS tracking system for the program. 
The 
system must 
include, 
but is not limited to, 
real-time data 
collection, secure remote monitoring and appropriate data storage 
and retrieval systems. 
• 
Rul es . 
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routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, 
chapter 375, 
subchapter 2-A. 
6. 
A~counting 
and 
application 
of 
savings. 
The 
commissioner 
shall 
identify, 
itemize 
and 
track 
all 
costs 
associated with the program and all savings that accrue from the 
release of prisoners under the program. 
The annual fiscal year 
surplus of these savings over these costs must be applied as 
follows: 
A. Forty percent credited to the General Fund: 
B. Forty percent applied to increase the number of 
probation officers appointed under section 5402 over 
number employed by the commissioner in fiscal year 2004; 
field 
the 
C. Ten percent applied to fund DNA analysis under the DNA 
Data Base and Data Bank Act, Title 25, chapter 194; and 
D. 
Ten 
p~ent applied 
to 
fund 
state 
law 
enforcement 
officers to conduct investigations as part of the Maine 
Computer 
Crimes 
Task 
Force 
established under Title 
25, 
section 1521-A. 
The commissioner shall by January 15th of each year present a 
report to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having 
jurisdiction over criminal justice matters and the joint standing 
committee 
of 
the 
Legislature 
having 
jurisdiction 
over 
appropriations and financial affairs that identifies all costs 
and savings resulting from the program, the net savings and a 
proposed budgeted application of net savings in accordance with 
this subsection. 
SUMMARY 
This 
bill 
requires 
the 
Department 
of 
Corrections 
to 
establish a GPS tracking release program for certain nonviolent 
prisoners. 
Eligibility for 
the 
program would be 
limited to 
prisoners with no history of violent or sexual crimes who have 
earned good time while in prison, have served more than half of 
their prison terms, have fewer than 36 months left to serve and 
agree to be fitted with 
a 
GPS 
tracking device. 
A prisoner 
accepted into the program would be fitted with the tracking 
device before being released and would be required to wear the 
device for the remainder of the prisoner's prison term plus an 
additional 2 months. 
The department is required to contract with 
a 
firm with appropriate expertise, 
which the department must 
choose through a competitive bidding process, to create the GPS 
tracking system. 
Net savings produced by the program are directed as follows: 
40% to the General Fund; 40% to hire new probation officers; 10% 
to fund DNA analysis under the DNA Data Base and Data Bank Act; 
and 10% to fund computer crime law enforcement officers.