An Act Regarding the Transportation of Prisoners to County Jails
Sec. 1. 4 MRSA §1057, sub-§3-A, as amended by PL 2015, c. 335, §2, is further amended to read:
At the close of each month, the State Controller shall calculate the amount to be transferred to the County Jail Operations Fund program and to the County Jail Transportation Reimbursement Fund based on the collections made during the month. The State Controller shall transfer by journal entry the amount due to the County Jail Operations Fund program and to the County Jail Transportation Reimbursement Fund.
Sec. 2. 30-A MRSA §1557-C is enacted to read:
§ 1557-C. Transportation to county jail
Sec. 3. 34-A MRSA §1210-E is enacted to read:
§ 1210-E. County Jail Transportation Reimbursement Fund
The County Jail Transportation Reimbursement Fund, referred to in this section as "the fund," is established as a nonlapsing, dedicated fund within the department. The department shall administer the fund and distribute funds to the counties in accordance with this section. Funds within the fund may be used only to reimburse a county for costs the county incurred in transporting a person to a county jail in accordance with Title 30-A, section 1557-C, except that the department may use funds from the fund to cover the department's expenses relating to the administration of the fund.
SUMMARY
This bill authorizes a municipal law enforcement agency with custody over a person pursuant to an arrest to request that the sheriff of the county jail to which the person is to be transported assume custody over the person and transport the person to the county jail. Upon receipt of such request, the sheriff is required to assume custody over the person and ensure that the person is transported to the county jail in a timely manner. The costs of transporting a person under this provision are to be paid by the county, which may seek reimbursement for such costs from the person transported under certain circumstances or apply for reimbursement from the County Jail Transportation Reimbursement Fund, which is established in this bill. The County Jail Transportation Reimbursement Fund is funded from a percentage of the total fines, forfeitures and penalties received monthly for deposit into the Government Operations Surcharge Fund.