An Act Regarding Transition Coordination, Prisoner Attendance at Funerals, Furloughs, Visitation, Education and Discretionary Accounts at County Jails
Maine Legislature, Session 131, LD 1301
Committee: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Sponsors: COLLINGS
Amends: 30-A MRSA §1511, 30-A MRSA §1555, 30-A MRSA §1556, 30-A MRSA §1556-A, 30-A MRSA §1653, 30-A MRSA §1663

Legislative Document
No. 1301
H.P. 826
House of Representatives, March 23, 2023
An Act Regarding Transition Coordination, Prisoner Attendance at 
Funerals, Furloughs, Visitation, Education and Discretionary 
Accounts at County Jails
Reference to the Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety suggested and ordered 
printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative COLLINGS of Portland.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  30-A MRSA §1511 is enacted to read:
§1511.  Transition coordinator
1. Transition coordinator required.  Except as provided by subsection 2, a county 
jail shall employ a transition coordinator to perform the duties described in this section.
2. Sharing of transition coordinator. Two or more counties may agree to share the 
costs of hiring a transition coordinator, who shall perform the duties described in this 
section for each of the counties that are parties to the agreement.
3. Duties. The transition coordinator shall create a transition plan for each inmate 
scheduled for release.  The transition plan must use available resources to address the 
following issues, as applicable to the inmate scheduled for release:
A. Seasonally appropriate clothing, including a winter coat;
B. Transportation;
C. Temporary housing; 
D. Substance use disorder treatment; 
E. Money for initial expenses; and
F. Any other issue for which the inmate to be released needs support.
Sec. 2.  30-A MRSA §1555, as enacted by PL 1987, c. 737, Pt. A, §2 and Pt. C, 
§106 and amended by PL 1989, c. 6; c. 9, §2; and c. 104, Pt. C, §§8 and 10, is further 
amended to read:
§1555.  Prisoners may attend funerals
Prisoners at the county jails may, at the discretion of the sheriff, attend funerals of their 
legally considered mother, father, husband, wife or child if the funeral is held within the 
State.  Prisoners must pay the cost of transportation and the fee and expenses of the officer 
who takes them to the funeral. Each county jail shall adopt a written policy regarding 
approval for prisoner attendance at funerals, including appropriate exceptions.
Sec. 3.  30-A MRSA §1556, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2021, c. 211, §1, is further 
amended to read:
1.  Furlough authorized.  The sheriff may establish rules, including appropriate 
exceptions, for and permit a prisoner under the final sentence of a court a furlough from 
the county jail in which the prisoner is confined.  Furlough may be granted for not more 
than 7 days at one time in order to permit the prisoner to visit a dying relative, to obtain 
medical services, to participate in a program operated by a jail that conditions release on 
regular daily reporting to the jail of the prisoner's location and activities or for any other 
reason consistent with the rehabilitation of an inmate or prisoner that is consistent with the 
laws or rules of the sheriff's department.  Furlough may be granted for a period longer than 
days if required to provide treatment for a physical or mental condition of the prisoner, 
including a substance use disorder, as determined by a qualified licensed professional.
Sec. 4.  30-A MRSA §1556, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 1987, c. 737, Pt. A, §2 and 
Pt. C, §106 and amended by PL 1989, c. 6; c. 9, §2; and c. 104, Pt. C, §§8 and 10, is further 
amended to read:
2.  Copy of rules provided to prisoner.  Any prisoner permitted furlough from the 
county jail under this section shall All prisoners must be furnished a copy of the rules of 
the county jail applicable to the furlough furloughs.  The A prisoner must attest to receiving 
the copy.
Sec. 5.  30-A MRSA §1556-A, first ¶, as enacted by PL 2019, c. 76, §1, is amended 
to read:
Except as otherwise provided in this section, and subject to any conditions and 
limitations required for the safety and security of a county jail as determined on a case-by-
case basis by a written policy of the sheriff of the county jail, the sheriff shall provide for 
in-person visitation between a prisoner and a visitor of the prisoner no less than once per 
week.
Sec. 6.  30-A MRSA §1653, as enacted by PL 1987, c. 737, Pt. A, §2 and Pt. C, 
§106 and amended by PL 1989, c. 6; c. 9, §2; and c. 104, Pt. C, §§8 and 10, is further 
amended to read:
§1653.  Bible, books and instruction for prisoners
The jailer, at the county's expense, shall have available to each prisoner who is able to 
read a copy of the Bible, and to all, on Sundays, such religious instruction as may be 
obtained without expense, and to those who may be benefited hereby,. The State shall 
provide instruction in reading, writing and arithmetic one hour every evening except on 
Sunday.  The jailer shall receive for their use from whatever source, by loan or contribution, 
any books or literature of a moral or religious tone and exclude those of opposite 
tendencies.
Sec. 7.  30-A MRSA §1663 is enacted to read:
§1663.  Prisoner accounts
A county jail that maintains prisoner accounts containing money to be used within the 
county jail for optional items and services shall create a fund to provide money in accounts 
for indigent prisoners.  Money for this fund may be from gifts, grants and donations to the 
county jail for that purpose or from an option for released prisoners to donate the balance 
of an account to the fund on release.
SUMMARY
This bill requires county jails to employ a transition coordinator who is responsible for 
creating a transition plan for each inmate scheduled for release. The bill requires county 
jails to have a written policy regarding prisoner leave for funerals, to provide all prisoners 
with a copy of the rules of the jail applicable to furloughs and to have a written policy 
regarding once-per-week visitation for prisoners and requires a county jail that maintains 
prisoner accounts containing money to be used within the county jail for optional items and 
services to create a fund to provide money in accounts for indigent prisoners. The bill 
requires the State to pay for certain prisoner education programs.