An Act To Amend the Laws Regarding the Department of Corrections
Maine Legislature, Session 127, LD 1440
Committee: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Sponsors: ROSEN
Amends: 15 MRSA §3203-B, 15 MRSA §3204, 15 MRSA §3301, 17-A MRSA §1175, 17-A MRSA §1203, 17-A MRSA §1259, 30-A MRSA §1561, 34-A MRSA §1403, 34-A MRSA §3001, 34-A MRSA §3031, 34-A MRSA §5402, 34-A MRSA §5404

Legislative Document 
No. 1440 
S.P. 542 
In Senate, June 1, 2015 
An Act To Amend the Laws Regarding the Department of 
Corrections 
Reference to the Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety suggested and ordered 
printed. 
HEATHER J.R. PRIEST 
Secretary of the Senate 
Presented by Senator ROSEN of Hancock.  (GOVERNOR'S BILL) 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  15 MRSA §3203-B is enacted to read: 
§3203-B.  Consultation with a juvenile community corrections officer 
When, in the judgment of a law enforcement officer, Juvenile Court proceedings 
should not be commenced against a juvenile but referral to a diversion program or 
restorative justice program is necessary, the law enforcement officer shall consult a 
juvenile community corrections officer as soon as possible after the determination is 
made.  If the juvenile community corrections officer agrees with the determination, the 
law enforcement officer may refer the juvenile to a diversion program or restorative 
justice program and the law enforcement officer shall ensure that the same conditions are 
met as if the referral had been made by a juvenile community corrections officer as an 
informal adjustment under section 3301.  The law enforcement officer shall inform the 
attorney for the State, the complainant and the victim of the determination and the 
reasons for the determination as soon as possible.  If either the juvenile community 
corrections officer or the attorney for the State does not agree with the determination, the 
juvenile must be referred to the juvenile community corrections officer for an intake 
assessment, and all relevant provisions of this Part apply. 
Sec. 2.  15 MRSA §3204, first ¶, as amended by PL 1999, c. 624, Pt. B, §7, is 
further amended to read: 
Statements of a juvenile or of a juvenile's parents, guardian or legal custodian made 
to a juvenile community corrections officer during the course of a preliminary 
investigation or made to a community resolution team in connection with a diversion 
program or restorative justice program to which the juvenile has been referred under 
section 3203-B or section 3301 are not admissible in evidence at an adjudicatory hearing 
against that juvenile if a petition based on the same facts is later filed. 
Sec. 3.  15 MRSA §3301, sub-§1, as amended by PL 1999, c. 624, Pt. B, §8, is 
further amended to read: 
1.  Preliminary investigation. When a juvenile accused of having committed a 
juvenile crime is referred to a juvenile community corrections officer for an intake 
assessment, the juvenile community corrections officer shall, except in cases in which an 
investigation is conducted pursuant to Title 5, section 200-A, conduct a preliminary 
investigation to determine whether the interests of the juvenile or of the community 
require that further action be taken. 
On the basis of the preliminary investigation, the juvenile community corrections officer 
shall: 
A.  Decide that action requiring ongoing supervision is not required either in the 
interests of the public or of the juvenile; 
B.  Make whatever informal adjustment is practicable without a petition; or 
C.  Request a petition to be filed. 
Sec. 4.  15 MRSA §3301, sub-§5, ¶B, as amended by PL 1999, c. 624, Pt. B, §9, 
is further amended to read: 
B.  Make whatever informal adjustment is practicable without a petition.  The 
juvenile community corrections officer may effect whatever informal adjustment is 
agreed to by the juvenile and the juvenile's parents, guardian or legal custodian if the 
juvenile is not emancipated, including a restitution contract with the victim of the 
crime and, the performance of community service and referral to a diversion program 
or a restorative justice program. Informal adjustments may extend no longer than 6 
months and may not be commenced unless: 
(1)  The juvenile community corrections officer determines that the juvenile and 
the juvenile's parents, guardian or legal custodian, if the juvenile is not 
emancipated, were advised of their constitutional rights, including the right to an 
adjudicatory hearing, the right to be represented by counsel and the right to have 
counsel appointed by the court if indigent; 
(2)  The facts establish prima facie jurisdiction, except that any admission made 
in connection with this informal adjustment may not be used in evidence against 
the juvenile if a petition based on the same facts is later filed; and 
(3)  Written consent to the informal adjustment is obtained from the juvenile and 
the juvenile's parents, guardian or legal custodian if the juvenile is not 
emancipated; 
Sec. 5.  17-A MRSA §1175, first ¶, as amended by PL 2013, c. 133, §10, is 
further amended to read: 
Upon complying with subsection 1, a victim of a crime of murder or of a Class A, 
Class B or Class C crime or of a Class D crime under chapters 9, 11 and 12 for which the 
defendant is committed to the Department of Corrections or to a county jail or is 
committed to the custody of the Commissioner of Health and Human Services either 
under Title 15, section 103 after having been found not criminally responsible by reason 
of insanity or under Title 15, section 101-D after having been found incompetent to stand 
trial must receive notice of the defendant's unconditional release and discharge from 
institutional confinement upon the expiration of the sentence or upon release from 
commitment under Title 15, section 101-D or upon discharge under Title 15, section 
104-A and must receive notice of any conditional release of the defendant from 
institutional confinement, including probation, supervised release for sex offenders, 
parole, furlough, work release, funeral or deathbed visit, supervised community 
confinement, home release monitoring or similar program, administrative release or 
release under Title 15, section 104-A.  For purposes of this section, "victim" includes a 
person who has an active protective order or approved consent agreement against the 
defendant under Title 19-A, section 4007. 
Sec. 6.  17-A MRSA §1175, sub-§1, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 680, §5, is 
amended to read: 
1.    A victim who wishes to receive notification must file a request for notification of 
the defendant's release with the office of the attorney for the State.  The and the attorney 
for the State shall forward this request form to the Department of Corrections, to the state 
mental health institute or to the county jail to which that defendant is committed.  or if a 
victim wishes to receive notification concerning a defendant who is committed to the 
Department of Corrections, the victim may file a request for notification of the 
defendant's release directly with the Department of Corrections. 
Sec. 7.  17-A MRSA §1175, sub-§3, ¶B, as amended by PL 2013, c. 133, §11, is 
further amended to read: 
B.  The nature of the release authorized, whether it is a conditional release, including 
probation, supervised release for sex offenders, parole, furlough, work release, 
funeral or deathbed visit, supervised community confinement, home release 
monitoring or a similar program, administrative release or release under Title 15, 
section 104-A, or an unconditional release and discharge upon release from 
commitment under Title 15, section 101-D or upon the expiration of a sentence or 
upon discharge under Title 15, section 104-A; 
Sec. 8.  17-A MRSA §1203, sub-§1-A, ¶E is enacted to read: 
E.  The court may revoke probation if, during the initial unsuspended portion of the 
term of imprisonment, the person has contact with a victim with whom the person has 
been ordered not to have contact as a condition of probation. 
Sec. 9.  17-A MRSA §1259, as amended by PL 2013, c. 28, §9, is further amended 
to read: 
§1259.  Commitments to the Department of Corrections of bound-over juveniles 
who have not attained 18 years of age at the time of sentence imposition 
A juvenile who has been bound over, pursuant to Title 15, section 3101, subsection 4, 
for a juvenile crime for which the juvenile had the burden of proof with respect to the 
finding of appropriateness, who is subsequently, as to the juvenile crime's adult 
counterpart, convicted and sentenced to a sentence alternative involving imprisonment 
and who has not attained 18 years of age at the time of sentence imposition must be 
committed to a Department of Corrections juvenile correctional facility for an 
indeterminate period not to extend beyond the juvenile's 18th birthday to serve the term 
of imprisonment or any unsuspended portion until discharge from the juvenile 
correctional facility and once discharged must be transferred to a correctional facility in 
which adult offenders are confined to serve out the remainder of the imprisonment term 
or unsuspended portion, if any. 
Sec. 10.  30-A MRSA §1561, sub-§1, ¶D, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 201, §1, is 
amended to read: 
D.    Is seriously mentally ill or developmentally disabled.  For the purposes of this 
paragraph, "seriously mentally ill" or "developmentally disabled" means a prisoner 
who, as a result of a mental disorder or developmental disability, exhibits emotional 
or behavioral functioning that is so impaired as to interfere substantially with the 
prisoner's capacity to remain in the general prison population without supportive 
treatment or services of a long-term or indefinite duration, as determined by the 
facility's psychiatrist or psychologist.  The exemption under this paragraph applies 
only to supportive treatment or services being provided to improve the prisoner's 
emotional or behavioral functioning; 
Sec. 11.  34-A MRSA §1403, sub-§2, ¶D, as enacted by PL 2013, c. 491, §3, is 
repealed. 
Sec. 12.  34-A MRSA §3001, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2013, c. 491, §5, is 
further amended to read: 
1.  Appointment.  The commissioner may appoint chief administrative officers as 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the department, subject to the 
Civil Service Law.  An appointment is for an indeterminate term and until a successor is 
appointed and qualified or during the pleasure of the commissioner. 
A.  To be eligible for appointment as a chief administrative officer, a person must be 
experienced in correctional management. 
B.  Chief administrative officers shall report directly to the commissioner or to the 
deputy commissioner or an associate commissioner if so directed by the 
commissioner. 
Sec. 13.  34-A MRSA §3031, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2011, c. 542, Pt. A, §59, 
is further amended to read: 
2.  Medical care. Adequate professional medical care and adequate professional 
mental health care, which do not include medical treatment or mental health treatment 
requested by the client that the facility's treating physician or treating psychiatrist or 
psychologist determines unnecessary.  The commissioner may establish medical and 
dental fees not to exceed $5 for the medical and dental services that are provided pursuant 
to this subsection and a fee not to exceed $5 for prescriptions, medication or prosthetic 
devices.  Except as provided in paragraph A, every client may be charged a medical or 
dental services fee for each medical or dental visit, prescription, medication or prosthetic 
device.  The facility shall collect the fee.  All money received by the department under 
this subsection is retained by the facility to offset the cost of medical and dental services, 
prescriptions, medication and prosthetic devices. 
A.  A client is exempt from payment of medical and dental services fees and fees for 
prescriptions, medication or prosthetic devices when the client: 
(1)  Receives treatment initiated by facility staff; 
(2)  Is a juvenile; 
(3)  Is pregnant; 
(4)  Is a person with a serious mental illness or developmental disability.  For the 
purposes of this paragraph, "a person with a serious mental illness or 
developmental disability" means a client who, as a result of a mental disorder or 
developmental disability, exhibits emotional or behavioral functioning that is so 
impaired as to interfere substantially with the client's capacity to remain in the 
general prison population without supportive treatment or services of a long-term 
or indefinite duration, as determined by the facility's psychiatrist or psychologist.  
The exemption under this paragraph applies only to supportive treatment or 
services being provided to improve the client's emotional or behavioral 
functioning; 
(5)  Is an inpatient at a state-funded mental health facility or is a resident at a 
state-funded facility for individuals with adult developmental disabilities; 
(6)  Is undergoing follow-up treatment; 
(7)  Receives emergency treatment as determined by the facility's medical or 
dental staff; or 
(8)  Has less than $15 in the client's facility account and did not receive 
additional money from any source for 6 months following the medical or dental 
service or provision of the prescription, medication or prosthetic device. 
B.  Notwithstanding paragraph A, the State may bring a civil action in a court of 
competent jurisdiction to recover the cost of medical, dental, psychiatric or 
psychological expenses incurred by the State on behalf of a client incarcerated in a 
facility. The following assets are not subject to judgment under this paragraph: 
(1)  Joint ownership, if any, that the client may have in real property; 
(2)  Joint ownership, if any, that the client may have in any assets, earnings or 
other sources of income; and 
(3)  The income, assets, earnings or other property, both real and personal, owned 
by the client's spouse or family.; 
A person who has not attained 18 years of age but who is residing in a correctional 
facility pursuant to a conviction as an adult may consent to necessary medical care as if 
the person had attained 18 years of age. 
Sec. 14.  34-A MRSA §5402, sub-§3, ¶A-1, as enacted by PL 2013, c. 491, §7, 
is amended to read: 
A-1.  Appoint regional correctional administrators as necessary for the proper 
performance of the functions of the department, subject to the Civil Service Law.  An 
appointment is for an indeterminate term and until a successor is appointed and 
qualified or during the pleasure of the commissioner. 
(1)  To be eligible for appointment as a regional correctional administrator, a 
person must be experienced in correctional management. 
(2)  A regional correctional administrator shall report directly to the 
commissioner or to the deputy commissioner or an associate commissioner if so 
directed by the commissioner. 
Sec. 15.  34-A MRSA §5404, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2013, c. 133, §31, is 
further amended to read: 
2.  Arrest.  Arrest, after completing the entry level and orientation training course 
prescribed by the commissioner, in the following circumstances: 
A.  Arrest violators of probation or supervised release for sex offenders and parole 
violators and return parole violators upon request of the commissioner; 
B.  Arrest and return to a correctional facility persons released from the correctional 
facility under section 3035 or transferred from the facility under section 3036-A; and 
C.  If the officer has probable cause to believe that a person under the supervision of 
the department has violated a condition of that person's probation, supervised release 
for sex offenders or parole, the officer may arrest that person; and 
D.  Arrest and return to a correctional or detention facility persons who have escaped 
from the official custody of the department.  For the purposes of this paragraph, 
"official custody" has the same meaning as set out in Title 17-A, section 755, 
subsection 3; 
Sec. 16.  34-A MRSA c. 9, sub-c. 1 is repealed. 
SUMMARY 
This bill authorizes law enforcement officers and juvenile community corrections 
officers to refer juveniles who commit minor offenses to diversion or restorative justice 
programs.  In order to facilitate the effectiveness of these programs, the protection 
provided against admissibility in evidence for admissions made at other early stages of 
the juvenile justice process is provided for admissions made in connection with these 
diversion and restorative justice programs.  An outdated reference to "community 
resolution teams" is also removed. 
The bill adds to the protections of the victim notification statute by requiring victim 
notification of funeral and deathbed visits by prisoners, by adding to the definition of 
"victim" a person who has obtained from a court a protection from abuse order or 
received the court's approval for a protection from abuse agreement and by allowing 
victims to request notification directly from the Department of Corrections. 
The bill allows a court to revoke the probation of an offender who has contact with a 
victim during incarceration if contact has been prohibited as a condition of probation. 
The bill clarifies that the exemption from the payment of a health care copayment for 
certain mentally ill or developmentally disabled prisoners applies only to health care 
addressing the mental illness or developmental disability and not to unrelated health care.  
These provisions apply to both jail and Department of Corrections prisoners.  The bill 
also removes a provision that is outdated as a result of recently enacted statutes 
prohibiting anyone under 18 years of age from being incarcerated in an adult facility. 
The bill removes language providing that certain positions in the Department of 
Corrections serve at the pleasure of the commissioner.  The positions include facility 
heads and regional community corrections administrators. 
The bill expands the arrest powers of probation officers so that, in addition to the 
other categories of offenders they may arrest, they are also authorized to arrest escapees 
from facilities of the Department of Corrections. 
The bill repeals an outdated uniform interstate compact for juveniles. 
The bill amends the provision of law requiring a court sentencing a juvenile bound 
over and convicted as an adult to imprisonment to commit the juvenile to a Department of 
Corrections juvenile facility until the person attains 18 years of age, with any 
imprisonment time remaining after the person attains 18 years of age to be served in an 
adult facility.  Currently, this provision is limited to certain serious crimes.  The bill 
eliminates the limitation, thus preventing a person who has not attained 18 years of age 
who commits a less serious crime from being incarcerated in an adult facility.