132nd MAINE LEGISLATURE
		LD 1032		LR 1443(02)
	An Act Regarding Court Security
	Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment " "
	Committee: Judiciary
	Fiscal Note Required: Yes
Fiscal Note
Potential current biennium cost increase - General Fund
Fiscal Detail and Notes
	The bill requires the Judicial Branch to contract for the services of qualified individuals to perform court security-related functions if court operations are affected by a lack of available court security for more than 2% of scheduled court time in any given month. It also requires that before seeking outside contractors, the Judicial Branch must first offer the contract for services to the sheriff's office in the county where the court is located.
	In existing contracts where sheriff's departments provide full-time security for the court, the Judicial Branch pays $32,143 per month. In cases where police officers are hired on a per diem basis to cover shortages in judicial marshal staffing, the rate is $600 per day. A more precise estimate of the fiscal impact is not possible because it is unknown how often this threshold would be met and which authority would be available to provide the service for the court. As such, no estimate of the cost of the bill is made at this time.