An Act To
Maine Legislature, Session 125, LD 0897
Committee Amendment CA_A_S389 (Senate)
Amends: 34-B MRSA §3873-A

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT " A" to S.P. 285, L.D. 897, Bill, "An Act To 
Amend the Application Process for the Progressive Treatment Program" 
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and before the 
summary and inserting the following: 
'Sec. 1. 34-B MRSA §3873-A, sub-§§l to 3, as enacted by PL 2009, c. 651, 
§29, are amended to read: 
1. Application. The superintendent or chief administrative officer of a psychiatric 
hospital, the commissioner 6f~ the director of an ACT team, except as limited by 
subsection 10, a medical practitioner, a law enforcement officer or the legal guardian of 
the patient who is the subject of the application may obtain an order from the District 
Court to admit a patient to a progressive treatment program upon the following 
conditions: 
A. The patient suffers from a severe and persistent mental illness; 
B. The patient poses a likelihood of serious harm; 
C. The patient has the benefit of a suitable individualized treatment plan; 
D. Corrnnunity reSOlH'oes Licensed and qualified community providers are available 
to support the treatment plan; 
E. The patient is unlikely to follow the treatment plan voluntarily; 
F. Court-ordered compliance will help to protect the patient from interruptions in 
treatment, relapses or deterioration of mental health; and 
G. Compliance will enable the patient to survive more safely in a community setting 
without posing a likelihood of serious harm. 
2. 
Contents of the application. 
The application must be accompanied by a 
certificate of a medical practitioner providing the facts and opinions necessary to support 
the application. 
The certificate must indicate that the examiner's opinions are based on 
one or more recent examinations of the patient or upon the examiner's recent personal 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" A" to S.P. 285, L.D. 897 
treatment of the patient. Opinions of the examiner may be based on personal observation 
ef-efI: and must include a consideration of history and information from other sources 
considered reliable by the examiner when such sources are available. The application 
must include a proposed individualized treatment plan and identify one or more licensed 
and qualified community providers willing to support the plan. 
The applicant must also provide a written statement certifying that a copy of the 
application and the accompanying documents have been given personally to the patient 
and that the patient and the patient's guardian or next of kin, if any, have been notified of: 
A. The patient's right to retain an attorney or to have an attorney appointed; 
B. The patient's right to select or to have the patient's attorney select an independent 
examiner; and 
C. How to contact the District Court. 
3. Notice of hearing. Upon receipt by the District Court of the application or any 
motion relating to the application, the court shall cause written notice of hearing to be 
mailed within 2 days to the applicant, to the patient and to the following persons if 
known: to anyone serving as the patient's guardian and to the patient's spouse, a parent or 
an adult child, if any. If no immediate relatives are known or can be located, notice must 
be mailed to a person identified as the patient's next of kin or a friend, if any are known. 
If the applicant has reason to believe that notice to any individual would pose risk of 
harm to the patient, notice to that individual may not be given. 
A docket entry is 
sufficient evidence that notice under this subsection has been given. If the patient is not 
hospitalized, the applicant shall serve the notice of hearing upon the patient personally 
and provide proof of service to the court. 
Sec. 2. 34-B MRSA §3873-A, sub-§10, as enacted by PL 2009, c. 651, §29, is 
repealed.' 
SUMMARY 
This amendment strikes and replaces the bill. It adds medical practitioners, law 
enforcement officers and legal guardians of individuals to the list of persons who may 
apply for admission to the progressive treatment program of an individual in need of 
psychiatric treatment. The amendment clarifies that available community providers for a 
progressive treatment program patient must be licensed and qualified. The amendment 
requires the application for admission to the program to include a proposed individualized 
treatment plan and to identify one or more licensed and qualified community providers 
willing to support the plan. The amendment requires that the applicant serve notice of 
hearing on a patient who is not hospitalized and provide proof of service to the court. 
The amendment also repeals provisions of law that apply when a patient is going to be 
served by an assertive community treatment team. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT