An Act To Amend the Laws Relating to Department of Corrections Facilities
Maine Legislature, Session 123, LD 0697
Committee: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Sponsors: GERZOFSKY, DIAMOND, BLANCHETTE, CANAVAN, CLARK, CROCKETT, PRA IT, RINES, SMITH, WHEELER
Amends: 17-A MRSA §253, 17-A MRSA §255-A, 17-A MRSA §1253, 34-A MRSA §1208, 34-A MRSA §1208-A, 34-A MRSA §3047

Legislative Document 
No. 697 
H.P.528 
House of Representatives, February 12,2007 
An Act To Amend the Laws Relating to Department of Corrections 
Facilities 
Submitted by the Department of Corrections pursuant to Joint Rule 204. 
Reference to the Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety suggested and ordered 
printed. 
Presented by Representative GERZOFSKY of Brunswick. 
Cosponsored by Senator DIAMOND of Cumberland and 
'7J/~ 1n.7J?dC~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Representatives: BLANCHETTE of Bangor, CANAVAN of Waterville, CLARK of 
Millinocket, CROCKETT of Augusta, PRA IT of Eddington, RINES of Wiscasset, SMITH of 
Monmouth, WHEELER of Kittery. 
Printed on recycled paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 17-A MRSA §253, sub-§2, ~E, as amended by PL 2001, c. 383, §15 and 
affected by § 156, is further amended to read: 
E. 
The other person, not the actor's spouse, is in offieial eustody under official 
supervision as a probationer ffi' .. a parolee, a sex offender on supervised release, a 
prisoner on supervised community confinement. status or a juvenile on community 
reintegration status or is detained in a hospital, prison or other institution, and the 
actor has supervisory or disciplinary authority over the other person. Violation of 
this paragraph is a Class B crime; 
Sec. 2. 17-A MRSA §255-A, sub-§l,~, as enacted by PL 2001, c. 383, §23 and 
affected by § 156, is amended to read: 
1. 
The other person, not the actor's spouse, is in offieial eustody under official 
supervision as a probationer ffi'~ parolee, a sex offender on supervised release, a 
prisoner on supervised community confinement status or a juvenile on community 
reintegration status or is detained in a hospital, prison or other institution and the 
actor has supervisory or disciplinary authority over the other person. Violation of 
this paragraph is a Class D crime; 
Sec. 3. 17-A MRSA §1253, sub-§14 is enacted to read: 
14. The Commissioner of Corrections or the sheriff of the county jail may establish 
policy and guidelines for crediting hours of participation in work in excess of 8 hours in a 
day toward another day for the purpose of calculating deductions from a sentence under 
subsections 4,5,8 and 10. 
Sec. 4. 34-A MRSA §1208, sub-§2, ~C-l is enacted to read: 
C-l. As part of any inspection, the commissioner may access any records, including, 
but not limited to, the records of persons detained in the facility, as considered 
necessary by the commissioner in order to determine compliance with standards. 
Sec. 5. 34-A MRSA §1208-A, as amended by PL 1991, c. 314, §16, is further 
amended to read: 
§1208-A. Standards for additional accommodations 
The commissioner shall establish standards for facilities not covered by section 1208 
that are used to house county prisoners, including secure detention facilities as defined in 
Title 15, section 3003, subsection 24-A and temporary holding resources as defined in 
Title 15, section 3003, subsection 26 and has the same power to determine compliance 
with and enforce those standards as provided under section 1208. 
Sec. 6. 34-A MRS A §3011, sub-§l, as enacted by PL 1997, c. 102, §2, is 
amended to read: 
Page I -1l3LR0639(Ol)-1 
1. Exercise of law enforcement powers. Investigative officers who are certified by 
the Board of Trustees of the Maine Criminal Justice Academy as law enforcement 
officers may exercise the powers of other law enforcement officers with respect to 
offenses relating to the security or orderly management of a facility administered by the 
department, if authorized to exercise these powers by the commissioner. Investigative 
officers may issue administrative subpoenas with respect to offenses relating to the 
security or orderly management of a facility administered by the department, if 
authorized to exercise these powers by the commissioner and by the Attorney General or 
the Attorney General's designee. Investigative officers may not exercise law enforcement 
or subpoena powers against other employees of the department. These powers are in 
addition to any powers the officers may otherwise have as employees of the department. 
Internal investigations of employees of the department must be conducted pursuant to any 
applicable collective bargaining agreement. 
Sec. 7. 34-A MRSA §3047, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2005, c. 506, §10, is 
further amended to read: 
2. Money. May give the prisoner an amount equal to the net salary of a single wage 
earner with no dependents for 40 hours of work at the state minimum wage less all 
applicable state and federal deductions provided that any amount in excess of $50 may 
not be provided by the General Fund, except that the commissioner may not give money 
to a prisoner who: 
A. 
Has, within the 6 months prior to the date of parole or discharge, transferred 
from the department's general client account to any person more than $500, excluding 
any money transferred for the support of dependents; or 
B. 
Has, on the date of parole or discharge, more than $500 in personal assets~~ 
Money received by the prisoner under this subsection is not subject to section 3032, 
subsection 5-A or 5-B or Title 17-A, section 1330, subsection 2; 
Sec. 8. 34-A MRS A §3069, sub-§l, ~, as enacted by PL 1983, c. 459, §6, is 
amended to read: 
E. 
Admission to a hospital mental health institute under this section has no effect 
upon a sentence then being served or a commitment then in effect. The sentence 
continues to run and the commitment remains in force, unless terminated in 
accordance with law. While the sentence or commitment is in effect, the person may 
not receive a privilege, including, but not limited to, a furlough or its equivalent, a 
funeral or deathbed visit or the use of tobacco, unless the chief administrative officer 
of the facility approves the receipt of the privilege. 
Sec. 9. 34-A MRS A §3069, sub-§2, ~, as enacted by PL 1983, c. 459, §6, is 
amended to read: 
D. 
Admission to a mental health institute under this section has no effect upon a 
sentence then being served or a commitment then in effect. The sentence continues 
to run and the commitment remains in force, unless terminated in accordance with 
law. While the sentence or commitment is in effect, the person may not receive a 
privilege, including, but not limited to, a furlough or its equivalent, a funeral or 
deathbed visit or the use of tobacco, unless the chief administrative officer of the 
facility approves the receipt of the privilege. 
SUMMARY 
This bill amends the laws relating to Department of Corrections facilities as follows. 
1. It adds to the Maine Criminal Code provisions defining gross sexual assault and 
unlawful sexual contact to include sexual conduct with any of the following when the 
actor has supervisory or disciplinary authority of one of the following: a sex offender on 
supervised release, a prisoner on supervised community confinement or a juvenile on 
community reintegration status. 
2. It allows prisoners who work more than 8 hours in a day to have the excess hours 
credited toward another day for purposes of receiving "earned good time" if permitted by 
the Commissioner of Corrections or the sheriff of the county jail. 
3. It allows Department of Corrections investigative officers to issue administrative 
subpoenas if authorized to do so by the Commissioner of Corrections and he Attorney 
General. 
4. 
It makes clear that "gate money" given to a prisoner by the Department of 
Corrections upon release is not subject to victim restitution, facility disciplinary 
restitution or facility monetary sanctions. 
5. It makes clear that prisoners who are admitted to a Department of Health and 
Human Services psychiatric hospital from a Department of Corrections facility may not 
receive a privilege at the hospital while still in legal custody of the Department of 
Corrections without the approval of the chief administrative officer of the Department of 
Corrections facility. 
6. It provides that the Commissioner of Corrections may access records, including 
the records of detained persons, as part of the inspection process for county and 
municipal detention facilities.