130th MAINE LEGISLATURE
		LD 54		LR 197(03)
	An Act To Amend the Laws Governing Post-conviction Review in Order To Facilitate the Fair Hearing of All Newly Discovered Evidence
	Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment " "
	Committee: Judiciary
	Fiscal Note Required: Yes
Fiscal Note
			FY 2021-22	FY 2022-23	Projections  FY 2023-24	Projections  FY 2024-25
Net Cost (Savings)
	General Fund		$1,692,798	$1,758,332	$1,807,997	$1,859,249
Appropriations/Allocations
	General Fund		$1,692,798	$1,758,332	$1,807,997	$1,859,249
Fiscal Detail and Notes
	The bill provides that there is no deadline for filing a petition for post-conviction review based on newly discovered evidence. According to information provided by the Judicial Department, this could increase the total number of post-conviction reviews by 5-10%, or about 80 to 159 new cases per year. As a result of the increased caseload, the bill includes General Fund Appropriations to the Judicial Department of $397,452 in fiscal year 2021-22 and $410,170 in fiscal year 2022-23 to establish one additional Judge, one Deputy Marshal position, one Assistant Clerk position and one part-time Law Clerk position.
	The bill also includes General Fund appropriations to the Office of the Attorney General of $1,098,853 in fiscal year 2021-22 and $1,151,669 in fiscal year 2022-23 for an additional 7.5 Assistant District Attorney positions, one Assistant Attorney General position and one Research Assistant Paralegal position to handle an anticipated increase in litigation.
	The Maine Commission on Indigent Legal Services (MCILS) is currently appointed as counsel for about 79% of post conviction reviews at an average cost of $2,077 per case. The bill includes ongoing General Fund appropriations of $196,493 to MCILS to handle an additional 95 post conviction reviews as a result of this bill.