LD 1758
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Page 1 of 2 An Act to Amend the Laws Pertaining to the Department of Corrections LD 1758 Title Page
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LR 841
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prisoner when the officer or supervisor reasonably believes that
any such force is necessary to prevent an escape from custody or
apprehend an escapee from custody when the officer or supervisor
reasonably believes that the prisoner has committed a crime
involving the use or threatened use of deadly force, is using a
dangerous weapon in attempting to escape from custody or prevent
apprehension, or otherwise indicates that the prisoner is likely to
seriously endanger human life or to inflict serious bodily injury
unless the escape is prevented or the prisoner is apprehended
without delay, and:

 
A.__The officer or supervisor has made reasonable efforts to
advise the prisoner that the officer or supervisor is an
officer or supervisor attempting to prevent an escape or
apprehend an escapee and the officer or supervisor has
reasonable grounds to believe that the prisoner is aware of
this advice; or

 
B.__The officer or supervisor reasonably believes that the
prisoner otherwise knows that the officer or supervisor is
an officer or supervisor attempting to prevent an escape or
apprehend an escapee.

 
For purposes of this paragraph, "a reasonable belief that a
prisoner has committed a crime involving use or threatened use of
deadly force" means a reasonable belief in facts, circumstances
and the law which, if true, would constitute such an offense by
that prisoner.__If the facts and circumstances reasonably
believed would not constitute such an offense, an erroneous but
reasonable belief that the law is otherwise justifies the use of
deadly force to prevent an escape or apprehend an escapee.

 
5. A corrections officer, corrections supervisor or law
enforcement officer is justified in using deadly force against a
person confined in the Maine State Prison or the Maine
Correctional Institution - Warren when the officer or supervisor
reasonably believes that deadly force is necessary to prevent an
escape from custody or apprehend an escapee from custody.__The
officer or supervisor shall make reasonable efforts to advise the
prisoner that if the attempt to escape does not stop immediately
or the prisoner does not submit to apprehension immediately,
deadly force will be used.__This subsection does not authorize a
corrections officer, corrections supervisor or law enforcement
officer who is not employed by a state agency to use deadly
force.

 
Sec. 5. 17-A MRSA §757, sub-§2, as repealed and replaced by PL 1977,
c. 510, §65, is amended to read:

 
2. As used in this section, "official custody" has the same
meaning as in section 755. As used in this section, "contraband"

 
has the same meaning as in section 756. In addition, as used in
this section, "contraband" includes tobacco and tobacco products
if a person has been committed to the official custody of the
Department of Corrections or of a sheriff who has banned the use
of tobacco and tobacco products by prisoners in the sheriff's
custody.

 
Sec. 6. 17-A MRSA §1202, sub-§1-B, as enacted by PL 1999, c. 492, §1,
is amended to read:

 
1-B. Notwithstanding subsection 1, the period of probation
for a person convicted of a Class D or Class E crime involving
domestic violence must be 2 years, except that the term of
probation must be terminated at the time the probationer
completes a certified batterers' intervention program as defined
in Title 19-A, section 4014, unless there is another condition of
probation that has yet to be met.

 
Sec. 7. 19-A MRSA §4012, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. B,
§2 and affected by Pt. E, §2, is repealed.

 
Sec. 8. 22 MRSA §2883, as amended by PL 1995, c. 560, Pt. K, §82
and affected by §83, is further amended by adding at the end a
new paragraph to read:

 
As used in this section, "burial" includes cremation and
burial of the cremated remains of the body.

 
Sec. 9. 25 MRSA §2801-A, sub-§2, ¶A, as enacted by PL 1989, c. 521, §§2
and 17, is amended to read:

 
A. For state agencies, the following class titles and their
successor titles:

 
(1) Training School Counselor I and II;

 
(2) Training School Counselor Supervisor;

 
(3) Corrections Officer I, II and III;

 
(4) Guard;

 
(5) Guard Sergeant;

 
(6) Guard Lieutenant; and

 
(7) Guard Captain; and

 
(8)__Correctional Trade Instructor; and

 
Sec. 10. 25 MRSA §2801-B, sub-§3 is enacted to read:

 
3. Juvenile facilities.__The training standards and
requirements of this chapter do not apply to the persons defined
by this chapter as corrections officers who are employees of the
Department of Corrections employed at a juvenile facility.__The
Commissioner of Corrections shall provide adequate education and
training for all such corrections officers. The board shall
advise the commissioner concerning appropriate and adequate
training.

 
Sec. 11. 32 MRSA §7154, 2nd ¶, as amended by PL 1979, c. 541, Pt. B,
§41, is further amended to read:

 
It shall be is unlawful for any a polygraph examiner
conducting a polygraph examination to ask any questions
pertaining to sexual behavior of any type or questions that could
be construed as being sexually oriented, unless the examination
is conducted in the course of either a criminal investigation by
law enforcement officials or in the course of civil litigation in
which sexual behavior is at issue or is conducted for the purpose
of ensuring compliance with court-ordered sex offender treatment.
This prohibition does not apply to polygraph examinations for
applicants for positions in law enforcement agencies. If the
polygraph examination is conducted for the purpose of ensuring
compliance with court-ordered sex offender treatment, the results
of the examination are not admissible into evidence in a court
proceeding.

 
Sec. 12. 34-A MRSA §1205, sub-§§1 and 2, as enacted by PL 1983, c. 459,
§6, are repealed.

 
Sec. 13. 34-A MRSA §1205, sub-§3, ¶¶A and B, as enacted by PL 1983, c.
459, §6, are repealed.

 
Sec. 14. 34-A MRSA §1205-A is enacted to read:

 
§1205-A.__Correctional Medical Services Fund

 
This section establishes the Correctional Medical Services
Fund to provide the means for the development, expansion,
improvement and support of correctional medical services.

 
1. Commissioner's powers. The commissioner may receive and
use, for the purpose of this section, money appropriated by the
State, grants from the United States and funds from other
sources.

 
2. Correctional Medical Services Fund.__All funds appropriated
for the purpose of this section and all grants and other funds
received by the department for the purpose of this

 
section must be credited to a special account in the department
to be known as the Correctional Medical Services Fund.__State
funds appropriated to this special account that are unexpended at
the end of the fiscal year for which the funds are appropriated
do not lapse, but must carry forward into subsequent fiscal years
to be expended for the purpose of this section.

 
Sec. 15. 34-A MRSA §1403, sub-§2, ¶C, as amended by PL 1999, c. 731,
Pt. G, §2, is further amended to read:

 
C. The commissioner shall appoint the following officials
to serve at the pleasure of the commissioner:

 
(1) Associate Commissioner for Adult Services;

 
(1-A) Associate Commissioner for Juvenile Services; and

 
(2) Assistant to the Commissioner; and

 
(3) Associate Commissioner for Legislative and Program
Services.

 
Sec. 16. 34-A MRSA §3003, sub-§1, as amended by PL 1997, c. 714, §2,
is further amended by amending the first paragraph to read:

 
1. Limited disclosure. All orders of commitment, medical
and administrative records, applications and reports, and facts
contained in them, pertaining to any a person receiving services
from the department, must be kept confidential and may not be
disclosed by any a person, except that public records must be
disclosed in accordance with Title 1, section 408, criminal
history record information may be disseminated in accordance with
Title 16, chapter 3, subchapter VIII, and documents, other than
those documents pertaining to information obtained by the
department for the purpose of evaluating a client's person's
ability to participate in a community-based program or from
informants in a correctional or detention facility for the
purpose of determining whether facility rules have been violated,
or a victim's request for notice of release, or a screening or
assessment tool used by a correctional or detention facility,
may, and must upon request, be disclosed:

 
Sec. 17. 34-A MRSA §3031-A is enacted to read:

 
§3031-A.__Transportation outside the State for medical care

 
1. Transportation.__A person residing in a correctional or
detention facility may be transported by the department for
medical care outside the State if the facility's treating

 
physician determines the care is necessary and unavailable within
the State.

 
2. Costs.__The person, if able, shall pay the cost of
transportation and the per diem compensation of the accompanying
officers.

 
Sec. 18. 34-A MRSA §3040-A, sub-§5 is enacted to read:

 
5. Burial at public expense.__Notwithstanding subsections 1
and 4, the chief administrative officer may use the deposit in
the client's account at a correctional or detention facility to
defray the cost of the burial of the client at public expense
pursuant to Title 22, section 2883.

 
Sec. 19. 34-A MRSA §3046, first ¶, as amended by PL 1991, c. 314, §50,
is further amended to read:

 
At the discretion of and under conditions prescribed by the
commissioner, a client confined in a correctional or detention
facility may attend the funeral of the client's spouse, natural
or adoptive mother, father, son, daughter, grandfather or
grandmother, grandchild, brother or sister, stepmother,
stepfather, stepson, stepdaughter, stepgrandfather or
stepgrandmother, stepgrandchild or stepbrother or stepsister or
may be permitted deathbed visits to any of those persons, if the
funeral or visit is held within the State.

 
SUMMARY

 
This bill does the following:

 
1. It establishes the authority for the Department of
Corrections to transport prisoners across state lines for medical
care;

 
2. It authorizes the department to pay for cremation as an
option and to clarify reimbursement for funeral expenses;

 
3. It allows deathbed visits by prisoners to step-relatives;

 
4. It exempts corrections officers at juvenile facilities
from the Criminal Justice Academy's training and certification
requirements;

 
5. It creates the Correctional Medical Services Fund;

 
6. It amends the confidentiality statutes to make screening
and assessment tools confidential;

 
7. It adds tobacco trafficking to the prison contraband law;

 
8. It repeals the temporary certification requirement for
batterers' intervention programs;

 
9. It removes Assistant to the Commissioner of Corrections
from positions that serve at the pleasure of the commissioner;

 
10. It adds Correctional Trade Instructor to the definition
of corrections officer;

 
11. It allows polygraph testing of sex offenders in court-
ordered treatment;

 
12. It clarifies use of force relating to corrections
personnel; and

 
13. It clarifies termination of probation provisions for
those who complete batterers' intervention programs.


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