An Act To Allow County Law Enforcement To Participate in Mutual Aid Agreements
Maine Legislature, Session 126, LD 1139
Committee Amendment CA_A_H377 (House)
Amends: 30-A MRSA §2674

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to H.P. 804, L.D. 1139, Bill, "An Act To 
Allow County Law Enforcement To Participate in Mutual Aid Agreements" 
Amend the bill by striking out all of section 2 and inserting the following: 
'Sec. 2. 30-A MRSA §2674, as amended by PL 2001, c. 65, §l, is further 
amended to read: 
§2674. Aid to other law enforcement agencies 
Except as otherwise provided by municipal charter or ordinance, the municipal 
officers may authorize the chief of police or other designee to request other municipalities 
to provide peliee law enforcement officers to assist the requesting municipality. The 
county commissioners may authorize the sheriff or other designee to request a 
municipality to provide law enforcement officers to assist the requesting county. The 
municipal officers may authorize the chief of police or other designee to provide pelfee 
law enforcement officers to assist other municipalities or counties when so requested by a 
properly authorized chief of police, sheriff or other designee of the requesting 
municipality or county. 
The authorizations of the municipal officers or county commissioners must be 
accompanied by an agreement between the requesting municipality or county and the 
responding municipality or county that specifies which InU:Aieipality governmental entity 
is liable, if any liability is determined to exist, for personal injury or property damage 
caused by or occurring to the peliee law enforcement officers of the responding 
municipality or county in the course of assisting the requesting municipality or county. 
If the request for assistance is for a major unplanned incident that jeopardizes the 
health and welfare of the citizens of the requesting municipality or county and when 
delay may cause further jeopardy to life or property or in the case of jointly planned 
collaborative activity, the police chief of any municipality or sheriff of any county or the 
chief's or sheriffs designee may request assistance from or provide assistance to another 
municipality or law enforcement agency whether or not an agreement between the 2 
mUflieiflslities or parties exists. Each ~ 
law enforcement department shall assume its 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
~." 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 'A "to RP. 804, L.D. 1139 
own liability to a 3rd party, except for liability incurred by the command or operational 
decisions made by the requesting department, which must be assumed by the requesting 
department. For the purposes of this paragraph, "major unplanned incident" means an 
extraordinary emergency to which a law enforcement agency is unable to adequately 
respond that presents a substantial and imminent danger to the public safety and that 
necessitates the cooperation or assistance of other law enforcement agencies. 
The pelise law enforcement officers of the responding municipality or county or law 
enforcement agency have the same authority as petiee law enforcement officers within 
the limits of the requesting municipality or county, except as to the service of civil 
process~ and, when assisting other municipalities, have the same privileges and 
immunities as when acting within their own jurisdiction.' 
SUMMARY 
This amendment adds to the bill to provide that county commissioners may authorize 
the sheriff or other designee to request that a municipality provide law enforcement 
officers to assist the requesting county and that municipal law enforcement officers may 
be authorized to assist a requesting county. The amendment also provides that the 
authorization from the county commissioners must be accompanied by an agreement 
between the requesting municipality or county and the responding municipality or county 
that specifies who is liable if any liability exists for personal injury or property damage 
caused by or occurring to the law enforcement officers. The amendment also provides 
that the sheriff or a sheriffs designee may request assistance from or provide assistance to 
a municipality or law enforcement agency whether or not an agreement between the 2 
parties exists ifthe request is for assistance in a major unplanned incident that jeopardizes 
the health and welfare of the citizens of the requesting municipality or county. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT