An Act To Provide Relief to Survivors of Economic Abuse
Maine Legislature, Session 129, LD 0748
Committee Amendment CA_A_H585 (House)
Amends: 19-A MRSA §4007

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to H.P. 553, L.D. 748, Bill, "An Act To 
Provide Relief to Survivors of Economic Abuse" 
Amend the bill in section 1 in subsection 2-A in the first line (page 1, line 3 in L.D.) 
by striking out the following: "Notwithstanding any provision of' and inserting the 
following: 'Except as prohibited by' 
Amend the bill in section 1 in subsection 2-A in the 5th line (page 1, line 7 in L.D.) 
by inserting after the following: "shall" the following: 'reinvestigate the debt. If after the 
investigation it is determined that the debt is the result of economic abuse, the consumer 
reporting agency shall' 
Amend the bill in section 3 in subsection 3-B in the 3rd line (page 1, line 18 in L.D.) 
by insetting after the following: "unauthorized" the following: 'or coerced' 
Amend the bill by striking out all of section 4 and inserting the following: 
'Sec. 4. 19-A MRSA §4007, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2017, c. 288, Pt. A, §§23 
to 26, is further amended to read: 
1. Protection order; consent agreement. The court, after a hearing and upon 
finding that the defendant has committed the alleged abuse as defined in section 4002, 
subsection 1 or engaged in the alleged conduct described in section 4005, subsection 1, 
may grant a protective order or, upon making that finding, approve a consent agreement 
to bring about a cessation of abuse or the alleged conduct. This subsection does not 
preclude the parties from voluntarily requesting a consent agreement without a finding of 
abuse. The couit may enter a finding that the defendant represents a credible threat to the 
physical safety of the plaintiff or a minor child residing in the plaintiff's household. The 
court may enter a finding of economic abuse. Relief granted under this section may 
include: 
A. 
Directing the defendant to refrain from threatening, assaulting, molesting, 
harassing, attacking or otherwise abusing the plaintiff and any minor children 
residing in the household; 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT • .;J"toH.P. 553, L.D. 748 
A-1. Directing the defendant not to possess a firearm, muzzle-loading firearm, bow, 
crossbow or other dangerous weapon for the duration of the order; 
A-2. Prohibiting the defendant from the use, attempted use or threatened use of 
physical force that would reasonably be expected to cause bodily injury against the 
plaintiff or a minor child residing in the household; 
B. Directing the defendant to refrain from going upon the premises of the plaintiffs 
residence; 
C. Directing the defendant to refrain from repeatedly and without reasonable cause: 
(1) Following the plaintiff; 
(2) Being at or in the vicinity of the plaintiffs home, school, business or place of 
employment; or 
(3) Engaging in conduct defined as stalking in Title 17-A, section 210-A; 
D. Directing the defendant to refrain from having any direct or indirect contact with 
the plaintiff; 
E. When the mutual residence or household of the parties is jointly owned or jointly 
leased or when one party has a duty to support the other or their minor children living 
in the residence or household and that party is the sole owner or lessee: 
(1) Granting or restoring possession of the residence or household to one party, 
excluding the other; or 
(2) A consent agreement, allowing the party with the duty to support to provide 
suitable alternate housing; 
E-1. Directing the defendant to refrain from injuring or threatening to injure any 
animal owned, possessed, leased, kept or held by either party or a minor child 
residing in the household; 
F. Ordering a division of the personal property and household goods and furnishings 
of the patties and placing any protective orders considered appropriate by the court, 
including an order to refrain from taking, converting or damaging property in which 
the plaintiff has a legal interest; 
F-1. Ordering the termination of a life insurance policy or rider under that policy 
owned by the defendant if the plaintiff is the insured life under the policy or rider. 
Upon issuance, a copy of the court order must be sent to the insurer that issued the 
policy; 
G. Either awarding some or all temporary parental rights and responsibilities with 
regard to minor children or awarding temporary rights of contact with regard to minor 
children, or both, under such conditions that the court finds appropriate as determined 
in accordance with the best interest of the child pursuant to section 1653, subsections 
to 6-B. The court's award of parental rights and responsibilities or rights of contact 
is not binding in any separate action involving an award of parental rights and 
responsibilities pursuant to chapter 55 or in a similar action brought in another 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT ·A" to H.P. 553, L.D. 748 
jurisdiction exercising child custody jurisdiction in accordance with the Uniform 
Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act; 
H. 
Requiring the defendant to receive counseling from a social worker, family 
service agency, mental health center, psychiatrist or any other guidance service that 
the court considers appropriate. The court may not order and the State may not pay 
for the defendant to attend a batterers' intervention program unless the program is 
certified under section 4014; 
I. Ordering the payment of temporary support for the dependent party or for a child 
in the dependent party's custody in accordance with chapter 63, or both, when there is 
a legal obligation to support that dependent party or that child, or both; 
J. Ordering the payment of temporary support payments to the State as provided in 
chapters 63 and 67; 
K. Ordering payment of monetary compensation relief to the abused person plaintiff 
for losses suffered as a 4ifeet result of the abuse defendant's conduct. Compensatory 
losses are Monetary relief includes but is not limited to loss of earnings or support, 
reasonable expenses incurred for personal injuries or property damage. transitional 
living expenses and reasonable moving expenses. Upon the motion of either party, 
for sufficient cause, the court may set a later hearing on the issue of the amount of 
damages monetary relief, if any, to be awarded. Nothing in this paragraph may be 
construed to limit the court's discretion to enter any of the other available relief under 
this chapter, and does not preclude a plaintiff from seeking monetary relief through 
other actions as permissible by law; 
L. Ordering the defendant to pay court costs or reasonable attorney's fees; 
L-1. Ordering the plaintiff to pay court costs or reasonable attorney's fees, or both, 
only if a judgment is entered against the plaintiff after a hearing in which both the 
plaintiff and the defendant are present and the court finds that the complaint is 
frivolous; 
M. Entering any other orders determined necessary or appropriate in the discretion of 
the court; 
N. Directing the care, custody or control of any animal owned, possessed, leased, 
kept or held by either party or a minor child residing in the household; 
0. With regard to conduct described as aggravated sex trafficking or sex trafficking 
as described in Title 17-A, section 852 or 853, respectively, entering any other orders 
determined necessary or appropriate in the discretion of the court, including, but not 
limited to, requiring the defendant to pay economic damages related to the return or 
restoration of the plaintiffs passport or other immigration document and any debts of 
the plaintiff arising from the trafficking relationship; 
P. With respect to unauthorized dissemination of certain private images as described 
in Title 17-A, section 511-A, entering any orders determined necessary or appropriate 
in the discretion of the court, including but not limited to ordering the defendant to 
pay costs associated with removal, destmction or return of the private images; or 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT ·A "to H.P. 553, L.D. 748 
Q. With respect to unauthorized dissemination of certain private images as described 
in Title 17-A, section 511-A, ordering the defendant to remove, destroy or return or 
to direct the removal, destruction or return of the private images, ordering the 
defendant to cease the dissemination of the private images and prohibiting the 
defendant from disseminating the private images. 
If the court enjoins the defendant under this subsection and the enjoined conduct 
constitutes harassment under Title 17-A, section 506-A, the court shall include in the 
order a warning in conformity with Title 17-A, section 506-A.' 
Amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or 
section number to read consecutively. 
SUMMARY 
The bill adds remedies for economic abuse to the relief a court may include in a 
protection from abuse order. This amendment makes revisions to the bill ensuring that it 
does not conflict with the federal Fair Credit Repo1iing Act, including provisions 
concerning identity theft, as well as modifying the monetary relief generally available to 
the court to allow the court broader discretion in addressing economic abuse issues. 
This amendment addresses concerns about preemption of state law by the federal Fair 
Credit Reporting Act and makes clear that a credit reporting agency's removal from a 
consumer's credit report of references to debt or any portion of a debt determined to be 
the result of economic abuse is not intended to conflict with federal law but complement 
the federal law and protect survivors of economic abuse when possible. The amendment 
requires the credit reporting agency to reinvestigate the debt, and if it is determined that 
the debt is the result of economic abuse, the credit reporting agency must remove 
reference to the debt, or any part determined to be the result of economic abuse, from the 
consumer's credit report. 
The amendment clarifies the definition of "economic abuse" to include both 
unauthorized and coerced use of credit, recognizing that there are already remedies for 
the crime of identity theft. This amendment is not intended to address identity theft, 
which is covered by the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act in 15 United States Code, 
Section 168lc-2. Instead, the amendment includes, but is not limited to, the exploitative 
use of joint credit accounts without authorization by both joint owners and debt incurred 
through coercion. 
The amendment adds language to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 19-A, section 
4007, subsection 1 to ensure that it is clear that the abuse for which a plaintiff may seek 
the issuance of a protection from abuse order is what is defined as abuse in Title 19-A, 
section 4002, subsection 1. The bill does not add economic abuse as a type of conduct 
for which a protection from abuse order may be sought, although it does provide that if a 
protection from abuse order is issued, the court has expanded discretion to order 
appropriate monetary relief to help address the impact of any economic abuse that may be 
found by the court. The amendment makes clear that the court may make a finding of 
economic abuse. 
The amendment strikes from the bill language specific to economic abuse relief that 
may be included in a protection from abuse order and instead amends the current law 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
_H ( .~ 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT~ "to H.P. 553, L.D. 748 
concerning monetary compensation. The amendment broadens the available relief by 
changing the monetary compensation in current law to monetary relief to the plaintiff that 
includes, but is not limited to, the existing types of relief and adds transitional living 
expenses, which are often necessary for plaintiffs who have suffered economic abuse. It 
also provides that the monetary relief component of a protection from abuse order does 
not limit the court's discretion to provide any other relief in a protection from abuse order, 
either as the statute specifically enumerates or as the court may find necessary and 
appropriate to issue as part of the proceeding under its discretion in section 4007, 
subsection 1, paragraph M, and does not preclude the plaintiff from seeking monetary 
relief through other actions as permissible by law. 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Approved: 05/03/19 feac:. 
LD748 
LR 913(03) 
An Act To Provide Relief to Survivors of Economic Abuse 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment ft ( 11-s !J :{) 
Committee: Judiciary 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
Minor cost increase - General Fund 
Minor revenue increase - General Fund 
Minor revenue increase - Other Special Revenue Funds 
Correctional and Judicial Impact Statements 
This bill may increase the number of civil suits filed in the court system. 
The additional workload associated with the minimal number of new cases filed in the court system does not require 
additional funding at this time. 
The collection of additional :filing fees may increase General Fund and other dedicated revenue by minor amounts. 
LR0913(03) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1