An Act To Amend the Maine Criminal Code and Related Statutes as Recommended by the Criminal Law Advisory Commission

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

Whereas,  laws were enacted by the 128th Legislature that inadvertently omitted a cross-reference to the Maine Rules of Evidence in the law on service of process on foreign entities that are providers of electronic communication service and providers of remote computing service; repealed the option of prosecuting possession of up to 2 1/2 ounces of marijuana by persons under 18 years of age as a civil violation; and neglected to amend the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act of 2013 to include a registration obligation for the new crime of gross sexual assault based on lack of acquiescence; and

Whereas,  timely correction of these errors and omissions is necessary to the proper administration of the criminal laws; 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,

Sec. 1. 15 MRSA §56, sub-§2, ¶C,  as enacted by PL 2017, c. 144, §3, is amended to read:

Sec. 2. 22 MRSA §2383, sub-§1-A,  as enacted by PL 2017, c. 1, §20, is amended to read:

Sec. 3. 34-A MRSA §11273, sub-§15, ¶A,  as amended by PL 2017, c. 65, §2, is further amended to read:

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

SUMMARY

This bill is emergency legislation. The bill makes the following corrections to the criminal and related laws and to the law on possession of more than 2 1/2 ounces of marijuana.

1. Public Law 2017, chapter 144, section 3 failed to distinguish, in the laws on service of process on providers of electronic communication service and providers of remote computing service, between foreign entities that are governed by laws of states other than Maine and those that are governed by laws of foreign countries. The bill distinguishes these 2 types of foreign entities and provides a cross-reference to the Maine Rules of Evidence for each type of foreign entity.

2. Public Law 2017, chapter 1, section 20 designated possession of up to 2 1/2 ounces of marijuana by a person under 18 years of age a violation of the Maine Juvenile Code, which was one of 2 options for prosecution under prior law. Chapter 1 repealed the option of prosecution of possession as a civil violation. The bill retains the designation of possession as a juvenile crime and restores the designation of possession as a civil violation. Neither the juvenile crime nor the civil violation applies to possession of up to 2 1/2 ounces by a person under 21 years of age who is a qualified patient for the purposes of the Medical Use of Marijuana Act.

3. Public Law 2017, chapter 300 created a new version of the crime of gross sexual assault, specifically, engaging in a sexual act with another person when that other person has not expressly or impliedly acquiesced to the sexual act. The law neglected to create a corresponding registration provision for the newly defined variant of gross sexual assault. The bill designates gross sexual assault based on lack of acquiescence to the sexual act as a Tier II offense under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act of 2013. The registration obligation will apply to conduct committed on or after the effective date of this Act.