An Act To Increase the Credit Toward Payment of Fines Given for Jail Time
Maine Legislature, Session 125, LD 0926
Committee: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Sponsors: HASKELL, KATZ, DILL, FOSSEL, HANLEY, HARLOW, LAJOIE, WAGNER, GERZOFSKY
Amends: 17-A MRSA §1304

Legislative Document 
No. 926 
H.P. 686 
House of Representatives, March 8, 2011 
An Act To Increase the Credit Toward Payment of Fines Given for 
Jail Time 
Reference to the Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety suggested and ordered 
printed. 
HEATHER J.R. PRIEST 
Clerk 
Presented by Representative HASKELL of Portland. 
Cosponsored by Senator KATZ of Kennebec and 
Representatives: DILL of Cape Elizabeth, FOSSEL of Alna, HANLEY of Gardiner, 
HARLOW of Portland, LAJOIE of Lewiston, WAGNER of Lewiston, Senator: GERZOFSKY 
of Cumberland. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  17-A MRSA §1304, sub-§3, ¶A, as amended by PL 2009, c. 608, §11, is 
further amended to read: 
A.  Unless the offender shows by a preponderance of the evidence that the default 
was not attributable to an intentional or knowing refusal to obey the court's order or 
to a failure on the offender's part to make a good faith effort to obtain the funds 
required for the payment, the court shall find that the default was unexcused and may: 
(1)  Commit the offender to the custody of the sheriff until all or a specified part 
of the fine is paid.  The length of confinement in a county jail for unexcused 
default must be specified in the court's order and may not exceed one day for 
every $5 $25 of unpaid fine or 6 months, whichever is shorter.  An offender 
committed for nonpayment of a fine is given credit toward the payment of the 
fine for each day of confinement that the offender is in custody, at the rate 
specified in the court's order.  The offender is also given credit for each day that 
the offender is detained as the result of an arrest warrant issued pursuant to this 
section. An offender is responsible for paying any fine remaining after receiving 
credit for confinement and detention.  A default on the remaining fine is also 
governed by this section; or 
(2)  If the unexcused default relates to a fine imposed for a Class D or Class E 
crime, as authorized by chapter 53, order the offender to perform community 
service work, as authorized in chapter 54-C, until all or a specified part of the 
fine is paid.  The number of hours of community service work must be specified 
in the court's order and may not exceed 8 hours for every $25 of unpaid fine or 
one hundred 8-hour days, whichever is shorter.  An offender ordered to perform 
community service work pursuant to this subparagraph is given credit toward the 
payment of the fine for each 8-hour day of community service work performed at 
the rate specified in the court's order.  The offender is also given credit toward the 
payment of the fine for each day that the offender is detained as a result of an 
arrest warrant issued pursuant to this section at a rate specified in the court's order 
that is not less than $5 $25 of unpaid fine per day of confinement.  An offender is 
responsible for paying any fine remaining after receiving credit for any detention 
and for community service work performed.  A default on the remaining fine is 
also governed by this section. 
SUMMARY 
Current law allows a court to order a person who fails to pay a criminal fine to be 
committed to a county jail and receive credit toward payment of the fine at the rate of $5 
for each day of confinement.  This bill increases the rate of credit to $25 per day of 
confinement.