PREFACE

     This electronic version of the 2003 edition of the Laws of Maine is a translation of the official publication of the Session Laws of the State of Maine enacted by the 121st Legislature, which is compiled and published under the authority of the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 3, section 163‑A.       The Laws of Maine has been in continuous publication since 1820, when the Acts and Resolves adopted by the First Legislature were published by the Secretary of State under the authority of Resolve 1820, chapter 25.

     This web site contains the public laws, private and special laws, resolves, and joint study orders enacted at the First Regular Session of the 121st Legislature, followed by the 2001 Revisor’s Report, chapter 2 and the subject index and title and section reports for those items.  There were no constitutional resolutions enacted during this session.

     The following conventions are used throughout this web site.

     1.  At the top of each page is a heading that indicates the individual classification of each law, the year and session of passage and its chapter number.

     2.  A link to an individual subject index of the documents contained at this web site, arranged alphabetically by subject headings with corresponding chapter numbers, is located at the bottom of each page.

     3.  A link to the session cross-reference table is also provided to show how laws exempted in previous revisions and Titles and sections of the Maine Revised Statutes of 1964 have been affected by the laws included in this web site.

     4.  When a word or phrase is deleted from the statutes, it is shown stricken through.  When an entire section or larger segment is repealed, the text that is repealed is not shown stricken but its repeal is indicated by express language.

     5.  When new words or sections are added to the statutes, they are underlined.

     6.  Citations to a Legislative Document are shown beneath the chapter number heading to assist in locating the original source of each chapter.

     7.  The effective date for Maine laws is provided in the Constitution of Maine, Article IV, Part Third, Section 16, which specifies that, except for certain emergency legislation, an act or resolve enacted into law takes effect 90 days after the adjournment of the session in which it passed.  The general effective date of nonemergency laws passed at the First Regular Session of the 121st Legislature is September 13, 2003.  The effective dates of emergency legislation vary and are provided at the end of the chapters that were enacted as emergencies.

     Hard copies of a specific chaptered law may be obtained by contacting the Engrossing Division of this office.  Hard copies of the edition of the Laws of Maine from which this electronic version is derived are also available.  The first copy is free; due to state budget constraints, there is a cost for additional copies.

     This electronic edition of the Laws of Maine and its predecessors have been prepared for the convenience of the people of the State of Maine, and any comments or suggestions for improvements in subsequent editions would be appreciated.

                                                  Margaret E. Matheson
                                                  Revisor of Statutes
                                                  July 2003

LEGISLATIVE STATISTICS
FIRST REGULAR SESSION
121st Legislature

*Pursuant to Joint Order H.P. 1212, matters before the First Regular Session of the
121st Legislature were held over to the Second Regular Session.