An Act Regarding the Place of Imprisonment of Certain Prisoners
Sec. 1. 17-A MRSA §1203, sub-§1-A, ¶C, as enacted by PL 1999, c. 788, §4, is amended to read:
(1) For a Class D or Class E crime the court must specify a county jail as the place of imprisonment. If the person is imprisoned at a county jail for longer than 9 months, the Commissioner of Corrections shall determine whether to transfer the prisoner to a correctional facility or to retain the person at the county jail. If the person remains at the county jail beyond 9 months, the commissioner shall reimburse the county for the cost of imprisonment beyond 9 months as provided in Title 34-A, section 1210-D, subsection 6.
(2) For a Class A, Class B or Class C crime the court must:
(a) Specify a county jail as the place of imprisonment for any portion of the sentence that is 9 months or less; and
(b) Commit the person to the Department of Corrections for any portion of the sentence that is more than 9 months.
If the person is imprisoned at a county jail for longer than 9 months, the Commissioner of Corrections shall determine whether to transfer the prisoner to a correctional facility or to retain the person at the county jail. If the person remains at the county jail beyond 9 months, the commissioner shall reimburse the county for the cost of imprisonment beyond 9 months as provided in Title 34-A, section 1210-D, subsection 6.
Sec. 2. 17-A MRSA §1206, sub-§9, as amended by PL 1999, c. 788, §6, is further amended to read:
Sec. 3. 17-A MRSA §1252, sub-§1, ¶¶A and B, as enacted by PL 1989, c. 693, §5, are amended to read:
(1) Specify a county jail as the place of imprisonment if the term of imprisonment is 9 months or less; or
(2) Commit the person to the Department of Corrections if the term of imprisonment is more than 9 months.
If the person is imprisoned at a county jail for longer than 9 months, the Commissioner of Corrections shall determine whether to transfer the prisoner to a correctional facility or to retain the person at the county jail. If the person remains at the county jail beyond 9 months, the commissioner shall reimburse the county for the cost of imprisonment beyond 9 months as provided in Title 34-A, section 1210-D, subsection 6.
Sec. 4. 34-A MRSA §1210-D, sub-§6 is enacted to read:
summary
This bill requires that the Commissioner of Corrections determine whether to transfer to a correctional facility or retain at a county jail a person who is imprisoned at a county jail for longer than 9 months. If the person is retained at the county jail, the bill requires the commissioner to reimburse the county jail on a per diem basis for the cost of imprisonment beyond 9 months. The bill requires that when a previously suspended sentence of imprisonment for a Class A, Class B or Class C crime is vacated, in whole or in part, as the result of a probation revocation, the court must respecify as the place of imprisonment the place in which the person was imprisoned prior to release on probation.