An Act To Reduce the Cost of the Operation of County Jails
Maine Legislature, Session 123, LD 0067
Committee: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Sponsors: CROCKETf, McCORMICK, CONOVER, FLOOD, HANLEY, PLUMMER, RAND, TREAT, MITCHELL, NASS
Amends: 17-A MRSA §1203, 17-A MRSA §1252

Legislative Document 
No. 67 
H.P.65 
House of Representatives, January 9, 2007 
An Act To Reduce the Cost of the Operation of County Jails 
Reference to the Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety suggested and ordered 
printed. 
Presented by Representative CROCKETf of Augusta. 
Cosponsored by Senator McCORMICK of Kennebec and 
~~/J1.7T/4c~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Representatives: CONOVER of Oakland, FLOOD of Winthrop, HANLEY of Gardiner, 
PLUMMER of Windham, RAND of Portland, TREAT of Farmingdale, Senators: MITCHELL 
of Kennebec, NASS of York. 
Printed on recycled paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 17-A MRSA §1203, sub-§l-A, ~C, as enacted by PL 1999, c. 788, §4, is 
amended to read: 
C. 
As to both the suspended and unsuspended portions of the sentence, the place of 
imprisonment must be as follows. 
(1) For a Class D or Class E crime the court must specify a county jail as the 
place of imprisonment. For a Class D crime, the court must specify a county jail 
as the place of imprisonment for a sentence ofless than 6 months. For a sentence 
of 6 months or more, the court must commit the person to the Department of 
Corrections. 
(2) For a Class A, Class B or Class C crime the court must: 
(a) Specify a county jail as the place of imprisonment for any portion 
of the sentence that is -9 less than 6 months or less; and 
(b) Commit the person to the Department of Corrections for any 
portion of the sentence that is more than 9 .§ months or more. 
Sec. 2. 17-A MRSA §1252, sub-§l, ~A, as enacted by PL 1989, c. 693, §5, is 
amended to read: 
A. 
For a Class D or Class E crime the court must specify a county jail as the place 
of imprisonment. 
Sec. 3. 17-A MRSA §1252, sub-§l, ~, as enacted by PL 1989, c. 693, §5, is 
amended to read: 
B. 
For a Class A, Class B er~ 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 less than 6 months er-Jess; or 
(2) 
Commit the person to the Department of Corrections if the term of 
imprisonment is more than 9 ~ months or more. 
SUMMARY 
This bill provides that for a Class A, Class B, Class C or Class D crime the court 
must specify a county jail as the place of imprisonment if the term of imprisonment is less 
than 6 months and must commit the person to the Department of Corrections if the term 
of imprisonment is 6 months or more. In the case of a split sentence, it provides that for a 
Class D crime, the court must specify a county jail as the place of imprisonment for a 
sentence of less than 6 months and must commit the person to the Department of 
Corrections for a sentence of 6 months or more. Also in the case of a split sentence, for a 
Class A, Class B or Class C crime the court must specify a county jail as the place of 
imprisonment for any portion of the sentence that is less than 6 months and commit the 
person to the Department of Corrections for any portion of the sentence that is 6 months 
or more.