An Act To Create a Cold Case Homicide Unit in the Department of the Attorney General

Sec. 1. 5 MRSA §200-J  is enacted to read:

§ 200-J.  Cold case homicide unit

The Attorney General in collaboration with the Commissioner of Public Safety shall establish a cold case homicide unit within the Department of the Attorney General to work exclusively on unsolved murders in the State. The unit must consist of personnel from the Department of the Attorney General and the Department of Public Safety, Bureau of State Police and must include at a minimum one attorney from the Department of the Attorney General, 2 detectives from the Bureau of State Police and one employee of the bureau's crime laboratory. The Attorney General shall adopt rules for the operation of the unit. Rules adopted pursuant to this section are routine technical rules as defined in chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.

Sec. 2. 25 MRSA §1505-A,  as enacted by PL 2001, c. 439, Pt. XXXX, §1, is repealed.

Sec. 3. Federal funding; cold case homicide unit. The Commissioner of Public Safety and the Attorney General shall pursue any federal funding available in order to establish a cold case homicide unit within the Department of the Attorney General as described in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 5, section 200-J.

Sec. 4. Contingent effective date. Those sections of this Act that enact the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 5, section 200-J and repeal Title 25, section 1505-A do not take effect unless sufficient federal funding becomes available to support the costs of the cold case homicide unit. The Commissioner of Public Safety shall notify the Secretary of State and the Revisor of Statutes when sufficient federal funding is available.