An Act To Require Probation Officers To Set a Schedule for Restitution Payment
Maine Legislature, Session 125, LD 0714
Committee: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Sponsors: NASS, BEAULIEU, BURNS, CRAY, EDGECOMB, HANLEY, PLUMMER
Amends: 17-A MRSA §1204, 17-A MRSA §1326-B, 17-A MRSA §1326-F

Legislative Document 
No. 714 
H.P. 545 
House of Representatives, February 23, 2011 
An Act To Require Probation Officers To Set a Schedule for 
Restitution Payment 
Received by the Clerk of the House on February 18, 2011.  Referred to the Committee on 
Criminal Justice and Public Safety pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to 
Joint Rule 401. 
HEATHER J.R. PRIEST 
Clerk 
Presented by Representative NASS of Acton. 
Cosponsored by Representatives: BEAULIEU of Auburn, BURNS of Whiting, CRAY of 
Palmyra, EDGECOMB of Caribou, HANLEY of Gardiner, McKANE of Newcastle, 
PLUMMER of Windham. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  17-A MRSA §1204, sub-§2-A, ¶B, as amended by PL 2009, c. 608, §9, 
is further amended to read: 
B.  To make restitution pursuant to chapter 54 to each victim of the convicted 
person's crime, or to the county where the offense is prosecuted if the identity of the 
victim cannot be ascertained or if the victim voluntarily refuses the restitution.  If the 
court orders as a condition of probation that the convicted person forfeit and pay a 
specific amount of restitution, that order, as a matter of law, also constitutes the 
imposition of restitution pursuant to chapter 54 as a sentencing alternative and no 
additional order in this regard is necessary.  A probation officer shall set a schedule 
for restitution payment, unless a schedule has been set by the court.  The court shall 
order employment searches for defendants in all cases in which restitution is ordered. 
Sec. 2.  17-A MRSA §1326-B, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 1999, c. 469, §1, is 
amended to read: 
2.    The income withholding order is effective as long as the order for restitution 
upon which it is based is effective, including after a defendant is no longer in the custody 
or under the supervision of the Department of Corrections and has not paid the restitution 
in full as described in section 1326-F, or until further order of the court. 
Sec. 3.  17-A MRSA §1326-F, as enacted by PL 2009, c. 608, §14, is amended to 
read: 
§1326-F.  Former Department of Corrections’ clients owing restitution 
An offender is responsible for paying any restitution outstanding at the time the term 
of commitment to the Department of Corrections or period of probation is completed.  An 
offender who has complied with the time and method of payment of monetary 
compensation determined by the Department of Corrections during the period of 
probation shall continue to make payments to the Department of Corrections in 
accordance with that payment schedule unless modified by the court pursuant to section 
1328-A or 1329.  An offender who has not complied with the time and method of 
payment of monetary compensation determined by the Department of Corrections during 
the period of probation must be returned to the court for further disposition pursuant to 
section 1329.  An offender who is unconditionally released and discharged from 
institutional confinement with the Department of Corrections upon the expiration of the 
sentence must, upon application of the office of the attorney for the State, be returned to 
the court for specification by the court of the time and method of payment of monetary 
compensation, which may be ordered paid to the office of the attorney for the State who 
prosecuted the case or to the clerk of the court.  Prior to the offender's release and 
discharge, the Department of Corrections shall provide the office of the attorney for the 
State who prosecuted the case written notice as to the amount of restitution outstanding.  
An income withholding order issued pursuant to section 1326-B remains effective and 
enforceable until the restitution is paid in full, even after an offender is no longer in the 
custody or under the supervision of the Department of Corrections. 
SUMMARY 
This bill clarifies that a probation officer shall set a schedule for restitution payment, 
unless a schedule has been set by the court.  The court shall order employment searches 
for all defendants in all cases where restitution is ordered.  The bill also clarifies that 
income withholding orders remain effective and enforceable until the restitution is paid in 
full, even after an offender is no longer in the custody or under the supervision of the 
Department of Corrections.