Sec. 1. 15 MRSA §602, as enacted by PL 1991, c. 402, §2, is amended to read:

§602. Responsibility to execute arrest warrants

It is the responsibility of all police and sheriff departments and their officers to use all reasonable efforts to execute any outstanding arrest warrants of which they are aware. It is essential to the integrity of the judicial system that the execution of arrest warrants as orders of the court receive a high priority from all police and sheriff departments and their officers. For an outstanding bench warrant issued for reason of an unpaid fine for an underlying conviction of a Class D or Class E offense, the executing police or sheriff department shall verify within 24 hours of the arrest that the fine is still unpaid or the arrestee must be released.

SUMMARY

The bill requires police officers to verify within 24 hours of the execution of a bench warrant issued for reason of an unpaid fine for an underlying Class D or Class E offense that the fine is still unpaid or the arrestee must be released.