An Act Regarding Regional Law Libraries
Maine Legislature, Session 131, LD 0468
Committee: Judiciary
Sponsors: MORIARTY
Amends: 4 MRSA §192, 4 MRSA §193, 4 MRSA §193-A, 4 MRSA §195, 4 MRSA §196, 4 MRSA §197, 30-A MRSA §121

Legislative Document
No. 468
H.P. 285
House of Representatives, February 7, 2023
An Act Regarding Regional Law Libraries
Submitted by the Judicial Department pursuant to Joint Rule 204.
Reference to the Committee on Judiciary suggested and ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative MORIARTY of Cumberland.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  4 MRSA §192, as amended by PL 2013, c. 533, §2, is repealed.
Sec. 2.  4 MRSA §193, as amended by PL 2013, c. 533, §3, is repealed.
Sec. 3.  4 MRSA §193-A is enacted to read:
§193-A.  Regional law libraries
The Administrative Office of the Courts shall allocate and disburse to a law library in 
Portland and to a law library in Bangor funds, in an amount determined by the State Court 
Administrator, that the law libraries may use to purchase legal resources and library 
equipment and supplies and to fund all or a portion of the costs of any necessary personnel.  
Both law libraries must receive the same amount of funds, which may be disbursed semi-
annually or more often, as the Administrative Office of the Courts determines.
The law libraries in Portland and Bangor must make their resources available to other 
libraries in the State and to the public.
If the State Court Administrator determines that there is no board of directors of a law 
library as required by section 196; that the board of directors of either law library is not 
fulfilling its duties under this section or section 196; or that the board of directors is 
otherwise not properly operating a law library that is available to the public, the State Court 
Administrator may withhold the funds that the law library would have otherwise received.
Sec. 4.  4 MRSA §195, as amended by PL 2001, c. 250, §3, is repealed.
Sec. 5.  4 MRSA §196, as amended by PL 2013, c. 533, §5, is further amended to 
read:
§196.  Duties, county committee Boards of directors
The County Law Library Committee A board of directors of each law library that 
receives funds pursuant to section 193-A shall establish local operating policies, such as, 
but not limited to, hours, circulation policies and photocopy privileges. Each county 
committee board shall exercise supervision over the expenditures of private and nonstate 
funds, including endowments, and may use those funds to upgrade its county law library.  
Each county committee shall determine space requirements.
The board of directors of a county bar association may serve as the board of directors 
of a law library if the law library has no dedicated board of directors.
Sec. 6.  4 MRSA §197, as amended by PL 2013, c. 533, §6, is further amended to 
read:
§197.  Duties of treasurer and clerk
The treasurer of each County Law Library Committee law library that receives funds 
pursuant to section 193-A, under the direction of the County Law Library Committee law 
library's board of directors under section 196, shall apply all private and nonstate moneys 
received, and all bequests and gifts, to form and operate a the law library. The clerk of the 
law library shall keep an exact record of all the proceedings of the committee board of 
directors.
The treasurer shall, annually, before the last Wednesday in July, deposit in the office 
of the State Court Administrator a statement of the funds received and expended by the 
treasurer law library during the preceding fiscal year.
Sec. 7.  30-A MRSA §121, sub-§1, ¶A, 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:
A.  Courthouses pursuant to Title 4, section 115, with a suitable room in each a 
courthouse in Cumberland County for the county law library;
SUMMARY
This bill amends the laws governing the system of law libraries administered by the 
Administrative Office of the Courts.  It requires the Administrative Office of the Courts to 
allocate and disburse funds to a law library in Portland and a law library in Bangor for the 
purchase of resources, equipment and supplies and to fund the costs of necessary personnel.  
It requires the board of directors of each of the 2 law libraries to establish operating policies 
and to exercise supervision over the expenditures of funds.