Sec. 1. 34-B MRSA §3863, sub-§3, ķA, as amended by PL 1993, c. 596, §3, is further amended to read:

A. If the judge or justice finds the application and accompanying certificate to be regular and in accordance with the law, the judge or justice shall endorse them and promptly send them to the admitting mental hospital. For purposes of carrying out the provisions of this section, an endorsement transmitted by facsimile machine has the same legal effect and validity as the original endorsement signed by the judge or justice.

SUMMARY

This bill makes a facsimile endorsement of a judge or justice in an involuntary psychiatric commitment proceeding as effective as the original endorsement.