PREFACE

          This electronic version of the 2001 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 120th 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.  The Laws of Maine has been published to the Internet since 1998.

          This web site contains the public laws, private and special laws, resolves, and joint study orders enacted at the First Regular Session of the 120th Legislature, followed by the Revisor’s Report 1999, chapter 2, as well as the subject index to those items.  There were no constitutional resolutions passed at this First Regular Session.  In addition, the hard copies of Volume 1 of the Laws of Maine contain a selection of significant addresses, joint resolutions and memorials.

          The following conventions are used throughout the series.

          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 on this web site, arranged alphabetically by subject headings with corresponding chapter numbers, is located at the bottom of each page.
         3.  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  When an entire section or larger segment is repealed, the text that is repealed is not shown stricken but its repeal is indicated by express language.
         4.  When new words or sections are added to the statutes, they are underlined.
         5.  Citations to a Legislative Document are printed beneath the chapter number heading to assist in locating the original source of each chapter.
         6.  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 120th Legislature is September 21, 2001.  The general effective date of September 21, 2001 is provided at the end of all nonemergency laws, with the proviso that other dates within the law itself control.  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 and the Laws of Maine for this session may be obtained by contacting the Engrossing Division of this office. 

          This 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
September 2001

LEGISLATIVE STATISTICS
FIRST REGULAR SESSION
120th Legislature