An Act To Provide for the Issuance of a Bench Warrant upon Failure To Appear for a Hearing on Nonpayment of a County Jail Reimbursement Fee
Maine Legislature, Session 122, LD 1709
Committee: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Sponsors: CROSTHWAITE, RA YE, COLLINS, TRAHAN, COURTNEY, ROSEN
Amends: 17-A MRSA §1341

Legislative Document 
No. 1709 
H.P.1216 
House of Representatives, December 20,2005 
An Act To Provide for the Issuance of a Bench Warrant upon 
Failure To Appear for a Hearing on Nonpayment of a County Jail 
Reimbursement Fee 
Approved for introduction by a majority of the Legislative Council pursuant to Joint Rule 
203. 
Received by the Clerk of the House on December 14, 2005. Referred to the Committee on 
Criminal Justice and Public Safety pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to 
Joint Rule 401. 
Presented by Representative CROSTHWAITE of Ellsworth. 
Cosponsored by Senator RA YE of Washington and 
71/~ 
frJ·711dC~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Representatives: COLLINS of Wells, DUGA Y of Cherryfield, TRAHAN of Waldoboro, 
Senators: COURTNEY of York, ROSEN of Hancock. 
Printed on recycled paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 17-A MRSA §1341. as amended by PL 1997, c. 88, §l, is 
further amended to read: 
§1341. Assessment of reimbursement fee against prisoners 
1. 
Assessment. 
When a person is sentenced to incarceration 
in a county jail, the sentencing court shall consider and may 
assess as part of the sentence a reimbursement fee to help defray 
the expenses of the offender's room and board. 
The fee may not 
exceed the cost of incarcerating the offender or $80 per day, 
whichever 
is 
less. 
Any 
reimbursement 
fee 
assessed 
must 
be 
collected by the county treasurer of the county in which the 
offender is incarcerated, paid into the treasury of that county 
and 
credited to 
the 
county 
responsible 
for 
paying 
for 
the 
incarceration of the offender. 
2. 
Evidence. 
The 
court, 
in 
determining 
whether 
a 
reimbursement fee as set out in subsection 1 is to be assessed 
and 
in establishing the 
amount 
of 
that 
fee, 
shall 
consider 
evidence relevant to the offender's ability to pay that fee, 
including, but not limited to, the factors set forth in section 
1325, subsection 2, paragraph D, subparagraphs (1) to (5). 
The 
court shall not consider as evidence the following: 
A. 
Joint ownership, if any, that the offender may have in 
real property: 
B. 
Joint ownership, if any, that the offender may have in 
any assets, earnings or other sources of income; and 
c. 
The income, 
assets, earnings or other property, both 
real and personal, owned by the offender's spouse or family. 
3. 
Amount of fee. 
After considering all relevant evidence 
on the issue of the offender's ability to pay under subsection 2, 
the court may enter, as part of its sentenceL 
a reimbursement fee 
that ssall must be paid by the offender for sis incarceration in 
the 
county 
j ail. 
The 
fee 
ssall 
must 
bear 
a 
reasonable 
relationship to the offender's ability to pay. 
Upon petition by 
the offender, the amount may be modified to reflect any changes 
in the financial status of the offender. 
4. 
Timing of fee. 
If an offender is sentenced to paL __ 9 
reimbursement fee, the court may grant permission for the payment 
to be made within a specified time or in specified installments. 
If 
such 
permission 
is 
not 
cont~ined in 
the 
sentence, 
the 
reimbursement fee is payable immediately. 
5. 
Default. 
An offender who has been sentenced to pay a 
reimbursement fee and who has oefaulted in payment of the fee 
must be returned to court for further disposition. 
A probation officer who 
knows of 
a default in payment of a 
reimbursement fee by an offender shall report the default to the 
office of the attorney for the State. 
An attorney for the State 
who knows of a default in payment of a reimbursement fee by an 
offender 
shall 
report 
the 
default 
to 
the 
court. 
If 
the 
reimbursement fee was a condition of probation, the attorney for 
the 
State 
may 
file 
a 
motion 
to 
enforce 
payment 
of 
the 
reimbursement fee or, with the written consent of the probation 
officer, a motion to revoke probation under section 1205. 
If the 
reimbursement fee was not a condition of probation, the attorney 
for 
the State may file 
a 
motion to enforce payment of the 
reimbursement fee. 
6. 
Motion to enforce paymgnt of reimbursement fee. 
Either 
the attorney for the State or the court may initiate a motion to 
enforce payment of a 
reimbursement fee. 
Notification for the 
hearing on 
the motion must be 
sent by regular mail to 
the 
offender's last known address. 
If the offender does not appear 
for the hearing after proper notification has been sent, 
the 
court may issue a bench warrant. 
A. 
Unless the offender shows by a 
preponderance of the 
evidence 
that 
the 
default 
was 
not 
attributable 
to 
an 
intentional or knowing refusal to obey the court's order or 
to a failure on the offender's part to make a good-faith 
effort to obtain the funds reguired to make payment. 
the 
court shall find that the default was unexcused and may 
commit the offender to the custody of the sheriff until all 
or a specified part of the jail reimbursement fee is paid. 
The length of confinement in a county jail for unexcused 
default must be specified in the court's order and may not 
exceed one day for every $5 of unpaid jail reimbursement fee 
or 
months, whichever is shorter. 
An offender committed 
for nonpayment of a reimbursement fee is given credit toward 
the 
payment 
of 
a 
reimbursement 
fee 
for 
each 
day 
of 
confinement that the offender is in custody, at the rate 
specified in the court's order. 
The offender is also given 
credit for each day that 
tl~e offender has been detained as 
the result of an arrest warrant issued pursuant to this 
section. 
An 
offender 
is 
responsible 
for 
paying 
any 
reimbursement 
fee 
remaining 
after 
recelvlng 
credit 
for 
confinement 
and 
detention. 
A default 
on 
the 
remaining 
reimbursement fee is also governed by this section. 
B. 
If it appears that the default is excusable , the court 
may give the offender additional time for payment or may 
reduce the amount of each installment. 
C. 
The confinement ordered under this subsection must be 
nonconcurrent with any judgment of conviction involving a 
term of imprisonment. 
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SUMMARY 
This bill provides for the issuance of a bench warrant in 
the event that a defendant does not appear for a hearing on a 
motion 
to 
enforce 
payment 
of 
a 
jail 
reimbursement 
fee. 
Presently, 
judges 
perceive 
an 
ambiguity 
as 
to 
whether 
the 
authority exists to issue a 
warrant upon nonappearance. 
This 
bill conforms the language regarding jail reimbursement fees with 
the language regarding unpaid fines and unpaid restitution.