An Act to Improve Family Court Procedure
Maine Legislature, Session 131, LD 0580
Committee Amendment CA_A_S84 (Senate)
Amends: 19-A MRSA §1653, 19-A MRSA §1653-B

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT " P, " to SP 248, L D 580, "An Act to Improve 
Family Court Procedure" 
Amend the bill by stnkmg out everythmg afte1 the enactmg clause and msertmg the 
followmg 
'Sec. 1. 19-A MRSA §1653, sub-§3, ,ro, as amended by PL 2021, c 647, Pt B, 
§46 and affected by §65, 1s further amended to read 
A parent's pnor willful misuse of the emergency parental nghts and responsibd1ties 
order process m section 1653-B or the protection from abuse p10cess 111 fonne1 chapter 
or chapter 103 m order to gam tactical advantage m a proceedmg mvolvmg the 
detenmnat10n of parental nghts and respons1b1ht1es of a mmor cluld 
Such willful 
misuse may be considered only 1f established by clear and convmcmg evidence and 1f 
1t 1s further found by clear and convmcmg evidence that, m the particular crrcumstances 
of the parents and child, that willful misuse tends to show that the actmg parent will m 
the future have a lessened ab1hty and w1llmgness to cooperate and work with the other 
parent m their shared responsib1hties for the child The court shall articulate findmgs 
of fact whenever relymg upon this factor as part of its determmat1on of a child's best 
mterest The voluntary d1sm1ssal of a motion for an emergency parental nghts and 
respons1b1ht1es order or a p10tect1on from abuse pet1t10n may not, taken alone, be 
treated as evidence of the willful misuse of the emergency parental nghts and 
respons1b1hties order process or the protect10n from abuse process, 
Sec. 2. 19-A MRSA §1653-B 1s enacted to read 
§1653-B. Emergency parental rights and respons1b1ht1es order 
1. Motion. A party to an action under this Title concemmg parental nghts, mcludmg 
actions for divorce, legal separation, parentage or parental rights and responsibihttes and 
post-mdgment proceedmgs ansmg out of these actions, may file a motion requestmg that 
the court issue an emergency parental nghts and respons1b1hties order with respect to a 
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child on an ex parte basis upon a showmg of 1mmediate and present nsk of substantial harm 
Page I - 131LR0792(02) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" A "to SP 248, L D 580 ($I' (5 'i) 
to the physical or emotional health or safety of the chdd A motion may not be filed under 
this section as part of a protection from abuse proceedmg under chapter 103 
2. Affidavit regmred. A mot10n for an emergency parental nghts and responsibilities 
order must be accompamed by an affidavit made under oath allegmg 
A The conditions estabhshmg an immediate and present nsk of substantial harm to 
the physical or emotional health or safety of the chdd, and 
B The actions taken by the party filmg the request to mform the other party or parties 
to the proceedmg of the mot10n or the reasons why the court should consider the request 
without requrrmg notice to the other party 
3. Temporary relief. The comi may, m an ex parte proceedmg, enter an emergency 
parental nghts and responsibilities order contammg any relief that the court considers 
necessary to address the unmediate and present nsk of substantial harm to the physical or 
emot10nal health or safety of the chtld An order issued under this subsection may mclude 
A An allocation of parental nghts and responsibilities between the parties, 
B Condit10ns governmg parent-chdd contact, mcludmg but not limited to prohibitmg 
parent-chtld contact, 
C Drrectives regardmg the residence of the chdd, mcludmg but not lumted to 
authonzmg or prohibitmg relocation of the chdd, and 
D Any other relief determmed appropriate m the discret10n of the court 
4. Demal of motion. Before denymg a motion for an emergency parental nghts and 
re@onsibilities order, the court shall 
A Allow the movmg party to be heard, accompanied by a person of the party's ch01ce, 
and 
B Advise the movmg party of the reasons for the demal 
Service. 
A party who files a motion for an emergency parental nghts and 
responsibihties order under this section shall 
A If the court tssues an order under subsect10n 3, arrange f01 the motion, affidavit and 
order to be personally served on the other party m a manner allowed by the applicable 
rule of civtl procedure along with the ongmal complamt or post-mdgment motion that 
accompamed the motion, 1f any, or 
B If the court demes the motion under subsect10n 4, arrange for the motion, affidavit 
and order denymg the motion to be served on the other party m a manner allowed by 
the apphcable rule of civd procedure along with the ongmal complamt or post-
mdgment motion that accompamed the mot10n, if any 
6. Hearmg. If the court enters an order under subsect10n 3, the court shall hold a 
hearmg withm 21 days of the tssuance of the order The scope of the hearmg is limited to 
the necessity of contmumg the temporary rehef granted m the emergency parental nghts 
and responsibilities order Nothmg m this section limits the court's d1scret10n to contmue 
the hearing upon the court's own motion or upon the motion of either party If the court 
demes the mot10n under subsection 4, the parties are not entitled to a hearmg under this 
subsect10n and the court may enter a scheduling order or any other order that the mterests 
of mstice reqmre 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" A " to S P 248, L D 580 ( ~ D l-J) 
7. D1ssolution or moddicat1on A party whose parental rights are affected by an 
emergency parental rights and responsibilities order issued under subsection 3, other than 
the party who requested the order, may appear and move for the dissolution or modification 
of the order before the scheduled hearmg The motion must be accompamed by a sworn 
affidavit The court shall schedule a hearmg on the mot10n as expeditiously as the mterests 
of rnstice regmre 
8. Jurisd1ct1on; procedure. A motion for an emergency parental nghts and 
respons1b1hties order under this section may be reviewed and an order may be issued by a 
Distnct Court Judge or a family law magistrate The clerk shall present the motion to a 
Distnct Court Judge or family law magistrate upon docketmg If no rndge or family law 
magistrate is available at the courthouse m which the request is made, the clerk shall 
forward the motion to any available tudicial officer withm the State 
Sec. 3. Working group. The Mame Comimss10n on Domestic and Sexual Abuse, 
established m the Mame Revised Statutes, Title 5, sect10n 12004-I, subsection 74-C, shall 
convene a workmg group of stakeholders mcludmg commiss10n members, representatives 
of the Judicial branch, family law practit10ners, members of the Family Law Advisory 
Comm1ss1on established m Title 5, sect10n 12004-I, subsection 52-A, representatives of a 
statewide coalition to end domestic v10lence and any others that the comm1ss10n determmes 
to be necessary participants To the extent possible, the membe1s of the workmg g10up 
must be the same as the members of the workmg group established pursuant to Resolve 
2021, chapter 99 
1. Duties. The workmg group shall review data provided by the Jud1c1al branch for at 
least 2 years followmg 1mplementat1on of this Act, mcludmg data on the number of requests 
for emergency parental nghts and responsibilities orders filed, the number of emergency 
parental nghts and respons1b1lities orders issued, the average tune between the filmg of a 
request and the hearmg on that request, 1f any, and any other data determmed by the Jud1c1al 
branch to be useful for evaluatmg efficacy of the new process 
2. Report; Ieg1slat1on. The comm1ss1on shall submit a report to the Jomt standmg 
committee of the Legislature havmg Junsd1ct10n over Judiciary matters no later than 
November 4, 2026 The report must identify the workmg group's participants, summanze 
the activities of the wmkmg group and mclude any conclusions made by the workmg group 
regardmg the effectiveness of the emergency parental nghts and responsibilities order 
process established m Title 19-A, section 1653-B The report may mclude the workmg 
group's recommendations for further unprovmg the family court response to families with 
urgent safety concerns The Jomt standmg committee of the Legislature havmgJunsd1ction 
over Jud1c1ary matters may report out legislation to the 133rd Legislature m 2027 based on 
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the report 
Sec. 4. Appropriations and allocations. The followmg appropnat10ns and 
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allocations are made 
JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT 
Courts - Supreme, Superior and District 0063 
Imtiat1ve Provides one-time fundmg for prmtmg costs to update A Gmde to Family 
Separation m Mame 
GENERAL FUND 
2023-24 
2024-25 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
ROS 
COMMITTEEAMENDMENT"f) "to SP 248,LD 580 (":>~8£.ij 
All Other 
GENERAL FUND TOTAL 
Courts - Supreme, Superior and District 0063 
$10,000 
$10,000 
$0 
$0 
Inrtiat1ve Establishes one Judge position, one Deputy Marshal position and one Assistant 
Clerk pos1t1on effective January 1, 2024 and provides fundmg f01 related All Other costs 
GENERAL FUND 
2023-24 
2024-25 
POSITIONS - LEGISLATIVE COUNT 
000 
000 
Personal Services 
$182,885 
$380,951 
All Other 
$31,530 
$15,930 
GENERAL FUND TOTAL 
JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT 
DEPARTMENT TOTALS 
GENERAL FUND 
DEPARTMENT TOTAL-ALL FUNDS 
$214,415 
2023-24 
$224,415 
$224,415 
Sec. 5. Effective date. This Act takes effect January 1, 2024' 
$396,881 
2024-25 
$396,881 
$396,881 
Amend the bill by relettermg or renumbermg any nonconsecutive Part letter or section 
number to read consecutively 
SUMMARY 
This amendment, which 1s the maJonty report of the committee, replaces the bill, which 
1s a concept draft Begmnmg January 1, 2024, the amendment authorizes a party to a 
divorce, legal separation, parentage or parental nghts and responsib1hties proceedmg or a 
post-Judgment motion ansmg out of one of these actions to file a mot10n requestmg that 
the court issue an ex parte emergency parental nghts and responsib1hties order on the basis 
thatthere 1s an 1mmed1ate and present nsk of substantial harm to the physical or emotional 
health or safety of a child The order may be issued by a D1stnct Court Judge or a family 
law magistrate and may mclude a temporary allocat10n of parental nghts and 
respons1b1hties between the parties m the underlymg action, condit10ns of parent-child 
contact and d1rectives regardmg the residence of the child If a Judge or magistrate issues 
an emergency parental nghts and responsib1ht1es order ex parte, the court shall hold a 
hearmg withm 21 days to determme the need for contmuat10n of the temporary rehef 
granted m the order In the meantime, a party affected by the emergency parental nghts 
and responsibilities order, other than the party that requested the order, may file a mot10n 
to modify or to dissolve the order, which the court must hear as expedit10usly as the 
mterests of Justice requrre 
The amendment also d1rects the Mame Comm1ss10n on Domestic and Sexual Abuse to 
convene a workmg group of stakeholders, similar to the workmg group established by 
Resolve 2021, chapter 99, to review data from the Judicial branch gathered for at least 2 
years followmg Implementation of the emergency parental nghts and responsibilities order 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
ROS 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" A "to s p 248, L D 580 ( s-i 11) 
process established m this legislat10n to evaluate the efficacy of the process 
The 
amendment directs the commiss10n to submit a report regardmg the w01kmg group's 
findmgs to the Jomt standmg committee of the Legislatme havmg Jurisdiction over 
Judiciary matters by November 4, 2026 The committee may report out legislation to the 
133rd Legislature m 2027 m response to the report 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Approved 04/10/23 fl:Ya~ 
LD580 
LR 792(02) 
An Act to Improve Family Court Procedure 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment ';tl' (S--'iS'~ 
Committee: Judiciary 
Net Cost (Savmgs) 
General Fund 
Appropnatrnns/ Allocations 
General Fund 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
Fiscal Note Reqmred: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
FY 2023-24 
FY 2024-25 
$224,415 
$396,881 
$224,415 
$396,881 
Projections 
FY 2025-26 
$410,595 
$410,595 
Projections 
FY 2026-27 
$424,803 
Begmnmg January I, 2024, this bill authorizes a party to a family matter mvolvmg a child to file a mot10n requestmg 
that the court issue an ex parte emergency parental nghts and respons1b1ht1es order under certam circumstances and 
1eqmres the court to hold a hearmg 21 days after ISsuance on the need for contmuat10n of the order 
The bill mcludes General Fund appropnat10ns to the Judicial Department of $224,415 m fiscal year 2023-24 and 
$396,881 m fiscal year 2024-25 to establish one Judge pos1t10n, one Deputy Marshal pos1tlon and one Assistant Clerk 
pos1t10n, effective January 1, 2024, to implement the aforement10ned process 
Any additional costs to the Mame Comm1ss10n on Domestic and Sexual Abuse associated with estabhshmg a 
workmg group to evaluate the efficacy of the process for the emergency parental nghts and respons1b1httes order are 
expected to be mmor and can be absorbed withm ex1stmg budgeted resources 
LR0792(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1