131st MAINE LEGISLATURE
		LD 1771		LR 2158(02)
	An Act Regarding Speedy Trials
	Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment " "
	Committee: Judiciary
	Fiscal Note Required: Yes
Fiscal Note
Potential State Mandate - Unfunded
			FY 2023-24	FY 2024-25	Projections  FY 2025-26	Projections  FY 2026-27
Net Cost (Savings)
	General Fund		$0	$777,956	$1,904,763	$2,250,634
	Highway Fund		$0	$0	$157,682	$312,674
Appropriations/Allocations
	General Fund		$0	$777,956	$1,904,763	$2,250,634
	Highway Fund		$0	$0	$157,682	$312,674
State Mandates
	Required Activity				Unit Affected	Local Cost
	To meet time limits for the commencement of criminal trials required in the bill counties will need to hire additional staff, including trial assistants and victim witness advocates, to support the expanded workload of district attorney offices statewide.				County	Moderate statewide
	The required local activities in this bill may represent a state mandate pursuant to the Constitution of Maine. If the bill does require a local unit of government to expand or modify its activities so as to necessitate additional expenditures from local revenue, the state mandate provisions of the Constitution of Maine require either: (1) General Fund appropriations be provided to fund at least 90% of any additional necessitated local costs of the mandate; or (2) a Mandate Preamble be added to the bill and two-thirds of the members of each House vote to exempt the mandate from the funding requirement. If the bill does represent a state mandate and neither one of these actions occurs, the local units of government will not be required to implement the mandated activities.
Fiscal Detail and Notes
	This bill establishes time limits for the commencement of criminal trials under the new Maine Speedy Trial Act. The bill includes ongoing General Fund appropriations to the District Attorneys Salary Program within the Office of the Attorney General of $777,956 in fiscal year 2024-25 to establish 12 Assistant District Attorney positions effective January 1, 2025, to handle the increased workload across the State's 8 prosecutorial districts to meet the time limits in the bill.
	The Department of Public Safety will require a General Fund appropriation of $292,839 and a Highway Fund allocation of $157,682 beginning in fiscal year 2025-26 for one Forensic Scientist position, 2 Forensic Chemist I positions, 4 DNA Forensic Analyst positions, one Forensic Scientist Firearms position and related All Other costs to process and examine evidence in time for trial dates.
	Any additional costs to the Criminal Division within the Office of the Attorney General and to the Judicial Branch can be absorbed within existing budgeted resources.