Sec. 2. 34-A MRSA §3408 is enacted to read:

§3408.__Chaplain

1.__Appointment. The warden shall appoint a suitable person as chaplain. Notwithstanding Title 5, section 902, subsection 3, any part-time chaplain position at the Maine Correctional Center may be a job-sharing position.

2.__Duties. The chaplain shall, in accordance with the rules of the Maine Correctional Center:

A.__Conduct religious services;

B.__Visit the sick;

C.__Labor diligently and faithfully for the mental, moral and religious improvement of the prisoners; and

D.__Aid the prisoners, when practicable, in obtaining employment after their discharge.

3.__Powers. The chaplain may, with the assent of the warden, establish a religious educational program and may admit a person of proper character from outside the Maine Correctional Center to assist with the program.

SUMMARY

This bill creates the position of director of religious services to oversee religious activities in the Department of Corrections and the position of chaplain at the Maine Correctional Center.