An Act To Improve Public Safety through Expanded Department of Corrections Treatment, Education and Vocational Programs
Maine Legislature, Session 128, LD 1706
Committee Amendment CA_A_H653 (House)
Amends: 34-A MRSA §1402

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to H.P. 1186, L.D. 1706, Bill, "An Act To 
Improve Public Safety through Expanded Department of Corrections Treatment, 
Education and Vocational Programs" 
Amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting the following: 
'An Act To Enhance Rehabilitation and Provide a Pathway to Reentry' 
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and before the 
summary and inserting the following: 
'Sec. 1. 34-A MRSA §1402, sub-§10, as enacted by PL 1991, c. 355, §3, is 
amended to read: 
10. Rehabilitation programs; recidivism data. Within the limits of available 
resources, the commissioner shall establish and maintain programs, inside and outside of 
correctional facilities, that provide rehabilitation services and opportunities for clients .. 
and are designed to: 
A. Upon intake into a correctional facility, assess each client and provide each client 
with an individualized reentry program that is tailored to the client's risk of 
recidivism upon release and programmatic needs: 
B. Provide each client with opportunities for educational, vocational and life skills: 
substance abuse and mental health treatment: and other programs and treatments 
designed to address the criminogenic needs of the client and to minimize the client's 
risk of recidivism upon release: 
C. Provide to each client during the client's term of imprisonment the resources and 
opportunities necessary to build and maintain family relationships and to strengthen 
the family and community support system available to the client upon release: 
D. Prior to release, provide to each client comprehensive reentry-related information 
and access to the resources necessaty for the client's successful transition into the 
community upon release: and 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" A" to H.P. 1186, L.D. 1706 
E. Ensure continuity in the supervised programming available to each client during 
the client's transition into the community upon release. 
Within the limits of available resources, the department shall collect data on and track 
over time the rate of recidivism of the client population served by its correctional 
facilities. 
Subject to the availability of data regarding the rate of recidivism, the 
commissioner shall ensure that the programs established and maintained pursuant to this 
subsection are designed to reduce the rate of recidivism.' 
SUMMARY 
This amendment, which is the minority report of the committee, changes the title and 
replaces the bill. It clarifies the scope and purpose of the rehabilitation programming 
offered by the Department of Corrections consistent with the department's mission to 
reduce the likelihood that juvenile and adult offenders will reoffend by providing 
practices, programs and services that are evidence-based and that hold the offenders 
accountable. 
The amendment also requires the department, within the limits of available resources, 
to collect data on and track over time the rate of recidivism of the client population served 
by its correctional facilities and to ensure that the rehabilitation programming offered by 
the department is designed to reduce the rate of recidivism, thereby enhancing public 
safety. 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See att~ched) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Approved: 03/14/18 :;l.,,;TaC:... 
LD 1706 
LR 2647(02) 
An Act To Improve Public Safety through Expanded Department of Corrections Treatment, 
Education and Vocational Programs 
Fiscal Note fol' Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment •A• [H ~ 6 5 3) 
Committee: Criminal Justice and Public Safety 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
Minor cost increase - General Fund 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
Any additional cost to the Department of Conections is assumed to be minor and can be absorbed within existing 
budgeted resources. 
LR2647(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1