An Act To Exempt Protection from Abuse Orders from the Notification and 30-day Waiting Period Requirements under the Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 14 MRSA §8004, sub-§4 is enacted to read:
4. Foreign protection orders. Subsections 2 and 3 do not apply if the foreign judgment is an order that qualifies as a protection order as defined by 18 United States Code, Section 2266 or is the equivalent of a protection from abuse order under Title 19-A, Part 4 or a protection from harassment order under Title 5, chapter 337-A.
Sec. 2. 14 MRSA §8006, as enacted by PL 1975, c. 335, is repealed and the following enacted in its place:
§ 8006. Fees
1. Filing a foreign judgment. Except as provided in subsection 2, a person filing a foreign judgment shall pay to the clerk of courts the fee then provided for the entry of an action. Fees for docketing, transcription or other enforcement proceedings are as provided for judgments of the District Court or Superior Court.
2. Exception. A fee may not be charged for the registration, docketing, transcription or other enforcement proceedings of a foreign judgment or order that qualifies as a protection order as defined by 18 United States Code, Section 2266 or is the equivalent of a protection from abuse order under Title 19-A, Part 4 or a protection from harassment order under Title 5, chapter 337-A.
Sec. 3. 19-A MRSA §1753, sub-§5, as enacted by PL 1999, c. 486, §3 and affected by §6, is amended to read:
5. Confidentiality. If Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if a party alleges in an affidavit or a pleading under oath that the health, safety or liberty of a party or child would be jeopardized by disclosure of identifying information, the information must be sealed and may not be disclosed to the other party or the public unless the court orders the disclosure to be made after a hearing in which the court takes into consideration the health, safety or liberty of the party or child and determines that the disclosure is in the interest of justice.
summary
This bill exempts foreign protection orders from the requirements of providing notice to the defendant and the 30-day waiting period for enforcement. This bill also exempts from registration, docketing, transcription or other enforcement fees the filing of a foreign protection order.