Sec. 21. 22 MRSA §2846, as amended by PL 1985, c. 17, is further amended to read:

§2846. Authorized person

For the purposes of this chapter, the "authorized person" responsible for obtaining or filing a permit or certificate shall mean means a member of the immediate family of the deceased, the domestic partner of the deceased, a person authorized in writing by a member of the immediate family of the deceased if no member of the immediate family of the deceased wishes to assume the responsibility, or by the domestic partner of the deceased if the domestic partner does not wish to assume the responsibility or, in the absence of immediate family or a known domestic partner, a person authorized in writing by the deceased. For purposes of this section, "domestic partner" means one of 2 unmarried adults who are domiciled together under long-term arrangements that evidence a commitment to remain responsible indefinitely for each other's welfare.

Sec. 22. Mandate payment schedule. The Judicial Department shall develop a mandate payment schedule and distribute funds allocated in this Act to registers of probate within the State.

Sec. 23. Acceptance of gifts and donations. The State Court Administrator is authorized to accept gifts and donations from any source for the purpose of offsetting the costs of funding the local mandate created by this Act.

Sec. 24. Appropriations and allocations. The following appropriations and allocations are made.

JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT

State Mandate - Probate Form Replacement

Initiative: Allocates funds on a one-time basis to be distributed to registers of probate for the purpose of complying with the state mandate regarding the replacement of probate forms.

Other Special Revenue Funds 2003-04 2004-05

All Other $0 $8,550

__________ __________

Other Special Revenue Funds Total $0 $8,550