SP0061, LD 186, item 3, ‘An Act To Amend the Membership and Quorum of the State Board of Corrections and Appropriate Funding for Fiscal Years 2015-16 and 2016-17’

Amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting the following:

‘An Act To Amend the Membership and Quorum of the State Board of Corrections and Appropriate Funding for Fiscal Years 2015-16 and 2016-17’

Amend the bill by inserting after the title and before the enacting clause the following:

‘Emergency preamble. Whereas, acts and resolves of the Legislature do not become effective until 90 days after adjournment unless enacted as emergencies; and

Whereas, for the continued stable and effective operation of the jails of this State, the composition of the State Board of Corrections must be amended, the quorum must be changed to a workable number, a member must be appointed chair of the board by operation of law and funding must be provided by July 1, 2015; and

Whereas, in the judgment of the Legislature, these facts create an emergency within the meaning of the Constitution of Maine and require the following legislation as immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety; now, therefore,’

Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and before the summary and inserting the following:

‘Sec. 1. 5 MRSA §12004-G, sub-§6-C, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 653, Pt. A, §3, is amended to read:

6-C.

Corrections

State Board of Corrections

Expenses Only Not Authorized

34-A MRSA §1801

Sec. 2. 34-A MRSA §1802, as amended by PL 2013, c. 598, §11, is further amended to read:

§ 1802. Board membership

1. Appointments. The board consists of 5 7 members who . The appointments made under paragraphs A and B are appointed by the Governor. Each appointment is subject to review by the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over criminal justice and public safety matters and to confirmation by the Senate , except those members appointed pursuant to paragraph C. The following provisions govern member qualifications membership of the board is as follows:

A. One member appointed by the Governor must be a sheriff nominated by a statewide organization representing sheriffs;

B. One member appointed by the Governor must be a county commissioner nominated by a statewide organization representing county commissioners;

C. Two members must be representatives of the executive branch and at least one of the 2 must be from the department; and

E. One member must be broadly representative of the public. The member appointed under this paragraph may not be an elected state or county official or municipal officer and may not derive income in substantial portion from work as an employee of a state, county or municipal government or in the field of corrections.

F. The commissioner;

G. The Commissioner of Administrative and Financial Services or the commissioner's designee;

H. The Commissioner of Public Safety or the commissioner's designee;

I. The Chief of the State Police or the chief's designee; and

J. The Commissioner of Health and Human Services, who shall serve as a nonvoting member, or the commissioner's designee.

2. Terms. Members of the board who are appointed by the Governor under paragraphs A and B serve at the pleasure of the Governor and , must be appointed for 3-year terms . A member and may continue to serve until that member's replacement is appointed and confirmed. A vacancy must be filled for the remainder of the unexpired term. Members who are appointed by the Governor under paragraphs A and B may be reappointed. Members of the board who serve pursuant to subsection 1, paragraphs F to J serve as ex officio members.

3. Chair. The board Commissioner of Corrections shall select a chair from among its membership. A chair may serve as chair for more than one term.

4. Compensation. Members of the board are not entitled to compensation according to the provisions of Title 5, section 12004-G, subsection 6-C.

5. Assistance. The department shall provide administrative support for the operations of the board, including but not limited to filing public notices, taking meeting minutes and recording decisions.

6. Board meetings. The board shall meet at least 4 times per year and as often as necessary at the discretion of the chair. Any 3 members of the board may call a meeting.

7. Quorum. Two-thirds of the Three members of the board constitute a quorum for purposes of voting , 2/3 of the members constitute a quorum for purposes of and rulemaking and 3 2 members constitute a quorum for subcommittee hearings held by the board that do not involve decision making.

8. Records and meetings. All meetings and records of the board are subject to the provisions of Title 1, chapter 13.

Sec. 3. Transition. Notwithstanding the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 34-A, section 1802, subsection 2, the terms of those members of the State Board of Corrections serving on the effective date of this Act expire upon the effective date of this Act.

Emergency clause. In view of the emergency cited in the preamble, this legislation takes effect when approved.’

SUMMARY

This amendment is the minority report of the committee. This amendment replaces the bill. The amendment adds an emergency preamble and emergency clause to the bill. The amendment changes the membership and quorum of the State Board of Corrections. The amendment does the following.

1. It changes the composition of the State Board of Corrections, adding 5 members as follows: the Commissioner of Administrative and Financial Services, the Commissioner of Corrections, the Commissioner of Health and Human Services, the Commissioner of Public Safety and the Chief of the State Police or the designees of each of those persons. It requires the member who represents a statewide organization of sheriffs and the member who represents a statewide organization of county commissioners to be appointed by the Governor.

2. It repeals entitlement to compensation for members of the board.

3. It changes the quorum rules as follows: for voting and rulemaking it changes the quorum from 2/3 of the membership to 3 members and for a subcommittee hearing it changes the quorum from 3 to 2.

4. It designates the Commissioner of Corrections as chair.

FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED

(See attached)

SP0061 LD 186	Session - 127th Maine Legislature C "B", Filing Number S-305, Sponsored by		LR 378 Item 3
	Bill Tracking, Additional Documents	Chamber Status

Bill Tracking		Chamber Status
Amendments	Testimony, Public Hearings & Work Sessions		Committee Information for this Bill
Other Documents			Title & Section

Search Bill Text		Search Bill Status
Bill Directory	Current Committees		Legislative Information
Download MS-Word, Printed PDF		Maine Legislature

Office of Legislative Information 100 State House Station Augusta, ME 04333		voice: (207) 287-1692 fax: (207) 287-1580 tty: (207) 287-6826
Word Viewer for Windows		Disclaimer