The bill also addresses forfeiture of a handgun used by the defendant or an accomplice during the commission of murder or any other unlawful homicide crime. The other person's burden is satisfied by proof by a preponderance of the evidence that, at the time of the commission of the crime, the other person was the rightful owner from whom the handgun had been stolen and the other person was not a principal or an accomplice in the commission of the crime. It also defines "handgun" for purposes of Title 17-A, section 1158-A.

The bill replaces Title 17-A, section 1202, subsection 1-B in order to address the constitutional defect revealed in the recent case of State v. Hodgkins, 2003 ME 57, 822 A.2d 1187. The bill also eliminates the necessity of the State's pleading and the jury's having to find that the Class D or Class E crime involved "domestic violence" by specifically enumerating the Class D or Class E crimes that automatically qualify and by having the State plead and the jury find that the qualifying crime was committed by the person "against a family or household member," as defined in Title 19-A, section 4002, subsection 4. The bill also makes clear that imposition of the extended period of probation is further conditioned upon the court's ordering the person to complete a certified batterers' intervention program as defined in Title 19-A, section 4014. This precondition is necessary because only one program currently exists for female defendants, and a program may not be reasonably available for certain male defendants. The bill also clarifies that termination of the extended probation period requires a judicial finding that the probationer has served at least one year of probation, has successfully completed a certified batterers' program and has met all other conditions of probation.

The bill is intended to make clear that in the event there is a failure by the State to comply with the time limits set forth in Title 17-A, section 1205-C, a court may, but is not required to, issue an order that, pending initial appearance, the probationer be released on personal recognizance.