Public Laws of 2001 as Passed at 2nd Regular Sess. of 120th Legislature

PUBLIC LAWS OF MAINE
Second Regular Session of the 120th

CHAPTER 698
S.P. 810 - L.D. 2175

An Act to Amend the County Jail Prisoner Support and Community Corrections Fund

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

Sec. 1. 4 MRSA §116, first ¶, as amended by PL 1999, c. 357, §1, is further amended to read:

All revenue received by the Supreme Judicial or Superior Court, whether directly or pursuant to an agreement entered into with the Department of Administrative and Financial Services, Bureau of ~~Taxation~~ Revenue Services, from fines, forfeitures, penalties, fees and costs accrues to the State, except as otherwise provided under sections 1057 and 1057-A,; Title 12, sections 3055 and 4508,; Title 23, section 1653 ~~and~~; Title 29-A, section 2602; and Title 34-A, section 1210-A, subsection 9.

Sec. 2. 4 MRSA §163, sub-§1, as amended by PL 1999, c. 357, §2, is further amended to read:

1. District Court funds. Except as otherwise provided by law, all fines, forfeitures, surcharges, assessments and fees collected in any division of the District Court or by the violations bureau must be paid to the clerk of that District Court, who shall deposit them in a special account in a timely manner. Once each month, the clerk shall remit the sums to the Treasurer of State, who shall credit them to the General Fund. At the same time, the clerk shall remit the sums that have been collected in accordance with sections 1057 and 1057-A; Title 5, chapter 316-A; ~~and~~ Title 29-A, section 2411, subsection 7; and Title 34-A, section 1210-A, subsection 9. Funds received by the clerk as bail in criminal cases must be deposited daily in a special account. The clerk shall deposit the funds in an interest-bearing account unless the clerk determines that it is not cost effective to do so. Interest accrued in the account is the property of and accrues to the State. The forfeiture and setoff of bail is governed as otherwise provided by law.

The court shall file a monthly report with the State Auditor itemizing the amount of fines, surcharges and assessments imposed and to whom each is payable.

Sec. 3. 4 MRSA §1057-A, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 1999, c. 357, §3, is amended to read:

2. Surcharge imposed. In addition to the 12% surcharge collected pursuant to section 1057 and the 1% surcharge collected pursuant to Title 34-A, section 1210-A, subsection 9, a 2% surcharge must be added to every fine, forfeiture or penalty imposed by any court in this State, which for the purposes of collection and collection procedures is considered a part of the fine, forfeiture or penalty. All funds collected pursuant to this section must be deposited monthly in the Maine Community Policing Institute Surcharge Fund. All funds collected pursuant to this section must be paid to the University of Maine System for the sole purpose of funding the Maine Community Policing Institute, except that the Judicial Department may incur reasonable expenses to implement the administration of the 2% surcharge, in an amount not to exceed $11,000 annually, in fiscal years ending June 30, 2000 and June 30, 2002.

Sec. 4. 34-A MRSA §1210-A, sub-§4, as enacted by PL 1997, c. 753, §2, is amended to read:

4. Change in state funding of county jails. If a county experiences at least a 10% increase in the total annual jail operating budget or if a county issues a bond for the construction of a new jail or renovation of an existing jail, the county may file with the department a request for an increase in the amount of state funds the county receives for the support of prisoners. A county must file a request for an increase in the amount of state funds the county receives for the support of prisoners by February 15th for an increase experienced in the prior fiscal year. The department shall review the request, and, if the county demonstrates to the department a need for the increase, the department shall ~~forward the request to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over corrections and criminal justice matters~~ distribute the approved amount to the county from the surcharges collected under subsection 9. All funds distributed under this subsection must be used only for the purpose of funding counties' costs of the support of prisoners detained or sentenced to county jails and for establishing and maintaining community corrections. The department shall forward the request and supporting documents to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over corrections and criminal justice matters of a county's requested increase and any distributions made to counties under this subsection.

Sec. 5. 34-A MRSA §1210-A, sub-§§9 and 10 are enacted to read:

9. Surcharge imposed. In addition to the 12% surcharge collected pursuant to Title 4, section 1057 and the 2% surcharge collected pursuant to Title 4, section 1057-A, an additional 1% surcharge must be added to every fine, forfeiture or penalty imposed by any court in this State, which for the purposes of collection and collection procedures is considered a part of the fine, forfeiture or penalty. Except as provided in subsection 10, all funds collected pursuant to this subsection are nonlapsing and must be deposited monthly in the County Jail Prisoner Support and Community Corrections Fund that is administered by the department. Except as provided in subsection 10, all funds collected pursuant to this subsection must be distributed to counties that have experienced at least a 10% increase in their total annual jail operating budget or to counties that have issued bonds for the construction of a new jail or renovation of an existing jail and that meet all other requirements under subsection 4. Funds distributed to counties pursuant to this subsection must be used for the sole purpose of funding costs of the support of prisoners detained or sentenced to county jails and for establishing and maintaining community corrections.

10. Implementation. The first $23,658 collected under subsection 9 after the effective date of this subsection must be transferred to the Judicial Department to cover the costs of implementing the collection of surcharges.

Sec. 6. County requests. Notwithstanding the February 15th reporting requirement in section 4 of this Act, requests for additional funding made by York County, Hancock County and Somerset County received by the Department of Corrections no later than February 28, 2002 do not have to be resubmitted.

Sec. 7. Effective date. This Act takes effect August 1, 2002.

Sec. 8. Appropriations and allocations. The following appropriations and allocations are made.

CORRECTIONS, DEPARTMENT OF
County Jail Prisoner Support
and Community Corrections Fund

Initiative: Allocates funds to be distributed to certain counties who experience at least a 10% increase in their annual jail operating budgets. The dedicated revenue to support this allocation is derived from a 1% surcharge on all fines, forfeitures or penalties imposed by any court in the State.
Other Special Revenue Funds 2001-02 2002-03
All Other $0 $110,757

CORRECTIONS, DEPARTMENT OF
DEPARTMENT TOTALS 2001-02 2002-03

OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE
FUNDS $0 $110,757

____________ ____________

DEPARTMENT TOTAL -
ALL FUNDS $0 $110,757

JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT
Courts - Supreme, Superior and District

Initiative: Pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 34-A, section 1210-A, subsection 10, provides one-time funds necessary to implement a new surcharge on all fines, forfeitures or penalties imposed by any court in the State.
Other Special Revenue Funds 2001-02 2002-03
Personal Services $0 $1,772
All Other 0 21,886