An Act to Support Emerging Adults Involved in the Criminal Justice System
Maine Legislature, Session 131, LD 1913
Committee: Judiciary
Sponsors: BAILEY
Amends: 15 MRSA §2261, 15 MRSA §2262, 15 MRSA §2262-A, 15 MRSA §2265, 15 MRSA §2266, 17-A MRSA §207, 17-A MRSA §207-A, 17-A MRSA §209-A, 17-A MRSA §210-B, 17-A MRSA §211-A, 17-A MRSA §353, 17-A MRSA §354, 17-A MRSA §354-A, 17-A MRSA §356-A, 17-A MRSA §357, 17-A MRSA §358, 17-A MRSA §359, 17-A MRSA §360, 17-A MRSA §401, 17-A MRSA §402-A, 17-A MRSA §506-A, 17-A MRSA §554-B, 17-A MRSA §1126, 29-A MRSA §2412-A

Legislative Document
No. 1913
S.P. 773
In Senate, May 9, 2023
An Act to Support Emerging Adults Involved in the Criminal 
Justice System
Reference to the Committee on Judiciary suggested and ordered printed.
DAREK M. GRANT
Secretary of the Senate
Presented by Senator BAILEY of York.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  15 MRSA §2261, sub-§6-A is enacted to read:
6-A.  Emerging adult.  "Emerging adult" means a person who, at the time of the 
commission of the crime underlying an eligible criminal conviction, was 18 years of age 
or older and under 22 years of age.
Sec. 2.  15 MRSA §2262, as enacted by PL 2021, c. 674, §1, is amended by 
amending the section headnote to read:
§2262.  Statutory prerequisites for sealing criminal history record information of 
persons 22 years of age or older and under 28 years of age
Sec. 3.  15 MRSA §2262, first ¶, as enacted by PL 2021, c. 674, §1, is amended to 
read:
Criminal history record information relating to a specific criminal conviction for a 
crime committed by a person 22 years of age or older and under 28 years of age may be 
sealed under this chapter only if:
Sec. 4.  15 MRSA §2262, sub-§6, as enacted by PL 2021, c. 674, §1, is amended to 
read:
6.  Age of person at time of commission.  At the time of the commission of the crime 
underlying the eligible criminal conviction, the person had was in fact attained 18 22 years 
of age but had not attained or older and under 28 years of age.
Sec. 5.  15 MRSA §2262-A is enacted to read:
§2262-A.  Statutory prerequisites for automatic sealing of criminal history record 
information for emerging adults
Criminal history record information relating to a specific criminal conviction for a 
crime committed by an emerging adult may be sealed under this chapter only if:
1.  Age of person at the time of commission. The person was an emerging adult at 
the time of the commission of the crime;
2.  Eligible criminal conviction.  The criminal conviction is an eligible criminal 
conviction; and
3.  Sentence fully satisfied. The person has fully satisfied each of the sentencing 
alternatives imposed under Title 17‑A, section 1502, subsection 2 for the eligible criminal 
conviction. 
When an emerging adult satisfies the requirements in subsections 1, 2 and 3, the court, 
upon receipt of appropriate notice of completion of the sentence, shall, within 5 business 
days, enter an order sealing from public inspection all records pertaining to the conviction 
and the associated sentence.
Sec. 6.  15 MRSA §2265, first ¶, as enacted by PL 2021, c. 674, §1, is amended to 
read:
Notwithstanding Title 16, section 704, the criminal history record information relating 
to a criminal conviction sealed under section 2262-A or 2264 is confidential, must be 
treated as confidential criminal history record information for the purposes of 
dissemination to the public under Title 16, section 705 and may not be disseminated by a 
criminal justice agency, whether directly or through any intermediary, except as provided 
in Title 16, section 705 and as set out in this section.  In addition to the dissemination 
authorized by Title 16, section 705, a criminal justice agency may disseminate the sealed 
criminal history record information to:
Sec. 7.  15 MRSA §2266, as enacted by PL 2021, c. 674, §1, is amended to read:
§2266.  Limited disclosure of eligible criminal conviction
A person whose eligible criminal conviction is the subject of a sealing order under 
section 2262-A or 2264 may respond to inquiries from persons other than criminal justice 
agencies and other than entities that are authorized to obtain the sealed criminal history 
record information under section 2265 by not disclosing the existence of the eligible 
criminal conviction without being subject to any sanctions under the laws of this State.  
Other than when responding to criminal justice agencies or when under oath while being 
prosecuted for a subsequent crime, a person whose criminal conviction is sealed does not 
violate Title 17‑A, section 451, 452 or 453 by not disclosing the sealed criminal conviction.
Sec. 8.  17-A MRSA §207, sub-§3, as amended by PL 2019, c. 113, Pt. B, §10, is 
further amended to read:
3.   For a violation under subsection 1, the court shall impose a sentencing alternative 
that involves a fine of not less than $300, which may not be suspended except as provided 
in subsection 4 or 5.
Sec. 9.  17-A MRSA §207, sub-§5 is enacted to read:
5.   There exists a rebuttable presumption that the mandatory minimum fine imposed 
by subsection 3 is suspended for an individual who had not attained 22 years of age at the 
time the offense was committed.  The State has the burden to rebut that presumption by a 
preponderance of the evidence.
Sec. 10.  17-A MRSA §207-A, sub-§3 is enacted to read:
3.   For the purposes of this section, a prior conviction does not include a conviction 
entered for an offense that was committed when the person was 18 years of age or older 
and under 22 years of age.
Sec. 11.  17-A MRSA §209-A, sub-§3 is enacted to read:
3.   For the purposes of this section, a prior conviction does not include a conviction 
entered for an offense that was committed when the person was 18 years of age or older 
and under 22 years of age.
Sec. 12.  17-A MRSA §210-B, sub-§3 is enacted to read:
3.   For the purposes of this section, a prior conviction does not include a conviction 
entered for an offense that was committed when the person was 18 years of age or older 
and under 22 years of age.
Sec. 13.  17-A MRSA §211-A, sub-§3 is enacted to read:
3.   For the purposes of this section, a prior conviction does not include a conviction 
entered for an offense that was committed when the person was 18 years of age or older 
and under 22 years of age.
Sec. 14.  17-A MRSA §353, sub-§3 is enacted to read:
3.   As used in this section, a prior conviction does not include a conviction entered for 
an offense that was committed when the person was 18 years of age or older and under 22 
years of age.
Sec. 15.  17-A MRSA §354, sub-§4 is enacted to read:
4.   For the purposes of this section, a prior conviction does not include a conviction 
entered for an offense that was committed when the person was 18 years of age or older 
and under 22 years of age.
Sec. 16.  17-A MRSA §354-A, sub-§4 is enacted to read:
4.   For the purposes of this section, a prior conviction does not include a conviction 
entered for an offense that was committed when the person was 18 years of age or older 
and under 22 years of age.
Sec. 17.  17-A MRSA §356-A, sub-§2 is enacted to read:
2.   For the purposes of this section, a prior conviction does not include a conviction 
entered for an offense that was committed when the person was 18 years of age or older 
and under 22 years of age.
Sec. 18.  17-A MRSA §357, sub-§6 is enacted to read:
6.   For the purposes of this section, a prior conviction does not include a conviction 
entered for an offense that was committed when the person was 18 years of age or older 
and under 22 years of age.
Sec. 19.  17-A MRSA §358, sub-§5 is enacted to read:
5.   For the purposes of this section, a prior conviction does not include a conviction 
entered for an offense that was committed when the person was 18 years of age or older 
and under 22 years of age.
Sec. 20.  17-A MRSA §359, sub-§3 is enacted to read:
3.   For the purposes of this section, a prior conviction does not include a conviction 
entered for an offense that was committed when the person was 18 years of age or older 
and under 22 years of age.
Sec. 21.  17-A MRSA §360, sub-§5 is enacted to read:
5.   As used in this section, a prior conviction does not include a conviction entered for 
an offense that was committed when the person was 18 years of age or older and under 22 
years of age.
Sec. 22.  17-A MRSA §401, sub-§4 is enacted to read:
4.   For the purposes of this section, a prior conviction does not include a conviction 
entered for an offense that was committed when the person was 18 years of age or older 
and under 22 years of age.
Sec. 23.  17-A MRSA §402-A, sub-§3 is enacted to read:
3.   For the purposes of this section, a prior conviction does not include a conviction 
entered for an offense that was committed when the person was 18 years of age or older 
and under 22 years of age.
Sec. 24.  17-A MRSA §506-A, sub-§4 is enacted to read:
4.   For the purposes of this section, a prior conviction does not include a conviction 
entered for an offense that was committed when the person was 18 years of age or older 
and under 22 years of age.
Sec. 25.  17-A MRSA §554-B, sub-§6 is enacted to read:
6.   For the purposes of this section, a prior conviction does not include a conviction 
entered for an offense that was committed when the person was 18 years of age or older 
and under 22 years of age.
Sec. 26.  17-A MRSA §1126, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2021, c. 434, §9, is further 
amended to read:
2.  Mandatory minimum fine barring court finding exceptional circumstances.  In 
addition to any other authorized sentencing alternative specified in section 1502, subsection 
for individuals or section 1502, subsection 7 for organizations, the court shall impose a 
minimum fine of $400, none of which may be suspended, except as provided in subsection 
or 4, for an individual convicted of a crime under section 1103; 1104; 1105‑A; 1105‑B; 
1105‑C; 1105‑D; 1106; 1107‑A; 1108; 1109; 1111‑A, subsection 4‑A; 1116; 1117; or 1118.
Sec. 27.  17-A MRSA §1126, sub-§4 is enacted to read:
4.  Rebuttable presumption that mandatory minimum fine is suspended for 
emerging adults.  There exists a rebuttable presumption that the mandatory minimum fine 
imposed by subsection 2 is suspended for an individual who had not attained 22 years of 
age at the time the offense was committed. The State has the burden to rebut that 
presumption by a preponderance of the evidence.
Sec. 28.  29-A MRSA §2412-A, sub-§3, as amended by PL 2019, c. 113, Pt. B, 
§18, is further amended to read:
3.  Minimum mandatory sentences for certain suspension.  If the suspension was 
for OUI or an OUI offense, the court shall impose a minimum fine of $600, a term of 
imprisonment of 7 consecutive days and a suspension of license of not less than one year 
nor more than 3 years consecutive to the original suspension.  The penalties may not be 
suspended except as provided in subsection 3‑A or 9.
A.  If the person has a prior conviction for violating this section within a 10-year period 
and was subject to the minimum mandatory sentences, then the following minimum 
penalties, which may not be suspended by the court, apply in the event the suspension 
was for OUI:
(1)  A minimum fine of $1,000, a term of imprisonment of 30 consecutive days 
and a suspension of license for not less than one year nor more than 3 years 
consecutive to the original suspension in the event of one prior conviction;
(2)  A minimum fine of $2,000, a term of imprisonment of 60 consecutive days 
and a suspension of license for not less than one year nor more than 3 years 
consecutive to the original suspension in the event of 2 prior convictions; or
(3)  A minimum fine of $3,000, a term of imprisonment of 6 months and a 
suspension of license for not less than one year nor more than 3 years consecutive 
to the original suspension in the event of 3 or more prior convictions.  The 
sentencing class for this offense is Class C.
B.  For all other suspensions, the minimum fine for a first offense is $250, which may 
not be suspended by the court.  The minimum fine for 2nd and subsequent offenses is 
$500, which may not be suspended by the court.
A separate reading of the allegation and a separate trial are not required under this 
subsection.
Sec. 29.  29-A MRSA §2412-A, sub-§9 is enacted to read:
9.  Rebuttable presumption that mandatory minimum fine is suspended for 
emerging adults.  There exists a rebuttable presumption that the mandatory minimum fine 
imposed by subsection 3 is suspended for an individual who had not attained 22 years of 
age at the time the offense was committed. The State has the burden to rebut that 
presumption by a preponderance of the evidence.
SUMMARY
This bill makes the following changes to the laws that govern criminal and collateral 
consequences for persons 18 years of age or older and under 22 years of age who are 
involved in the criminal justice system.
1. It amends the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 15, chapter 310-A to allow for automatic 
sealing of eligible criminal convictions for persons who were 18 years of age or older and 
under 22 years of age when the offense underlying the conviction to be sealed was 
committed.
2.  It creates a rebuttable presumption against assessing mandatory minimum fines for 
certain offenses committed by an individual who was under 22 years of age at the time the 
offense was committed.
3.  It provides that in certain statutes a prior conviction does not include an offense that 
was committed when the charged individual was 18 years of age or older and under 22 
years of age.