An Act To Promote Personal Financial Responsibility by Allowing a Person To Make Good on Dishonored Checks Prior to the Imposition of Criminal Penalties Reference to the Committt::e on Criminal Justice and Public Safety suggested and ordered printed.
Maine Legislature, Session 124, LD 1107
Sponsors: HAYES
Amends: 17-A MRSA §708

MAINE STATE LEGISLATURE 
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S 1"/3, TE Lt1lrv U 1::3 FUJ.. H V 
AUGUST A, MAINE 
124th MAINE LEGISLAT·URE 
Legislative Document 
No. 1107 
. 
House of Representatives, March 20, 2009 
An Act To Promote Personal Financial Responsibility by Allowing a 
Person To Make Good on Dishonored Checks Prior to the 
Imposition of Criminal Penalties 
Reference to the Committt::e on Criminal Justice and Public Safety suggested and ordered 
printed. 
Presented by Representative HAYES of Buckfield. 
Printed on r~cyd~d pnpcl' 
~g~ 
m.7J?tU~{ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 17-A MRSA §708, sub-§l, 'TIA, as enacted by PL 2001. c. 383, §77 and 
affected by § 156, is amended to read: 
A. 
The person intentionally issues or negotiates' a negotiable instrument knowing 
that it will not be honored by the maker or drawee. Violation of this paragraph is a 
Class E crime; 6f 
Sec.2. 17-A MRSA §708, sub-§l, 'TIA-:l is enacted to read: 
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A-I. The person issues or negotiates a negotiable instrument that is not honored by 
the maker or drawee and the person does f10t pay the intended recipient of the 
negotiable instrument the full amount of the face value of the negotiable instrumelit, 
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along with any fees charged because the negotiable instrument was not honored, 
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within 30 days of receiving written notice sent by the intended recipient of the 
negotiable instrument by celiified mail, return receipt requested. ViolatiOll of this 
paragraph is a Class E cri.-he; or 
IS 
, Sec. 3. 17-A MRSA §708, sub-§l, 'TIE, as amended by PL2007, c. 476, §28, is 
fmiher amended to read: 
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B. The person violates either paragraph A or paragraph A-I and: 
(I) The face value of the written instrument or the aggregate value of the 
instruments is m'ore than $10,000. Violation of this subparagraph is a Class B 
crime; 
(2) 
The face value of the written instrument or the aggregate value of the 
instruments is more than $1,000 but not more than $10,000. Violation of this 
subparagraph is a Class C crime; 
(3) The face value of the negotiable instrument is more than $500 but not more 
than $1,000. Violation of this subparagraph is a Class D crime; or 
(4) At the time of negotiating a worthless instrument, the person has 2 or more 
prior convictions for any combination of the Maine offenses listed in this 
subparagraph or for engaging in substantially similar conduct to t11l:1t of the Maine 
offenses listed in .this subparagraph in another jurisdiction. The Maine offenses 
. are: theft; any violation of this section; any violation of section 401 in which the 
crime intended to be committed inside the ~tructure is theft; any violation of 
section 405 in which the crime intended to be committed inside the motor vehicle 
is theft; any violation of section 651; any violation of section 702 or 703; or 
attempts to commit any of these crinies. Section 9-A governs the use of prior 
convictions when determining a sentence. Violation of this subparagraph is a 
Class C crime~ 
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SUMMARY 
This bill creates a category of the crime of negotiating a worthless instrument. If a 
person issues or negotiates a negotiable instrument that is not honored, and the intended 
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recipient sends. written notice that the instrument was not honored. the person commits a 
crime if the person does not pay the inteilded recipient the [llli amount of the face value 
of the negotiable instrument. plus fees, within 30 days of receiving the written notice . 
The notice must be sent by cel1ified mail, return receipt requested. This eliminates the 
.need to proye that the person knew that the negotiable instrlllnent would not be honored 
at the time it was written.