CHAPTER 502

H.P. 1216 - L.D. 1709

An Act To Provide for the Issuance of a Bench Warrant

upon Failure To Appear for a Hearing on Nonpayment of a

County Jail Reimbursement Fee

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:

Sec. 1. 17-A MRSA §1341, as amended by PL 1997, c. 88, §1, is further amended to read:

§1341. Assessment of reimbursement fee against prisoners

1. Assessment. When a person is sentenced to incarceration in a county jail, the sentencing court shall consider and may assess as part of the sentence a reimbursement fee to help defray the expenses of the offender's room and board. The fee may not exceed the cost of incarcerating the offender or $80 per day, whichever is less. Any reimbursement fee assessed must be collected by the county treasurer of the county in which the offender is incarcerated, paid into the treasury of that county and credited to the county responsible for paying for the incarceration of the offender.

2. Evidence. The court, in determining whether a reimbursement fee as set out in subsection 1 is to be assessed and in establishing the amount of that fee, shall consider evidence relevant to the offender's ability to pay that fee, including, but not limited to, the factors set forth in section 1325, subsection 2, paragraph D, subparagraphs (1) to (5). The court shall not consider as evidence the following:

A. Joint ownership, if any, that the offender may have in real property;