‘An Act To Require the Accommodation of Religious Practices in Correctional Facilities’
| HP0390 LD 507 |
Second Regular Session - 123rd Legislature - Text: MS-Word, RTF or PDF |
LR 392 Item 2 |
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| Bill Tracking | Chamber Status | ||
Amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting the following:
‘An Act To Require the Accommodation of Religious Practices in Correctional Facilities’
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and before the summary and inserting the following:
‘Sec. 1. 34-A MRSA §3048 is enacted to read:
§ 3048. Religious services
The commissioner shall adopt rules that provide for the accommodation of any prisoner who expresses a desire to practice a religion of the prisoner's choice as long as the practice does not present a threat to the safety, security or orderly management of the facility in which the prisoner is housed. The rules must be consistent with all federal requirements. Rules adopted under this section are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.
Sec. 2. Rule-making process. The Commissioner of Corrections shall use the February 28, 2008 draft of the Department of Corrections policy "Religious Services, General Guidelines" as a basis for the rules adopted under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 34-A, section 3048.’
summary
This amendment replaces the bill. It requires the Commissioner of Corrections to adopt rules, consistent with all federal requirements, including the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000, 42 United States Code, Chapter 21C, to provide for the accommodation of prisoners’ religious practices. The rules may limit or prohibit practices that present a threat to the safety, security or orderly management of the facility.
The Department of Corrections’ religious services draft policy, dated February 28, 2008, must serve as the basis of the rules. The rules are routine technical.