Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

APPROVED                   CHAPTER
                                                                       APRIL 22, 2024                   659
                                                                      BY GOVERNOR                 PUBLIC LAW
                                     STATE OF MAINE
                                              _____
                             IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD
                         TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-FOUR
                                              _____
                                    H.P. 1193 - L.D. 1863
 An Act to Facilitate the Provision of Medically Appropriate Levels of Care
                     for Clients of Correctional Facilities
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
    Sec. 1. 34-A MRSA §1402, sub-§5, as amended by PL 2021, c. 620, §4, is further
amended to read:
    5. Grievance procedures. The commissioner shall establish procedures for hearing
grievances of clients. The commissioner shall establish a separate grievance process for
addressing complaints by prisoners about their medical and mental health treatment as well
as a separate grievance process for addressing complaints regarding compliance with the
standards established pursuant to sections 1208, 1208‑A and 1208‑B. The commissioner
shall track data for all grievances filed by prisoners about their medical or mental health
treatment and shall publish monthly on the department's publicly accessible website the
data tracked pursuant to this subsection in a manner that does not violate the confidentiality
requirements of section 1216 or any other provision of state or federal law.
    Sec. 2. 34-A MRSA §3036-A, sub-§10, as amended by PL 2023, c. 399, §1, is
further amended to read:
    10. Terminally ill or incapacitated prisoner. With the consent of the prisoner, the
commissioner may transfer a prisoner committed to the department from a correctional
facility to supervised community confinement without meeting the eligibility requirements
of subsection 2, paragraphs B and C and without meeting the criteria or fulfilling the
process provided for under subsection 2‑A if the department's director of medical care has
determined that the prisoner has a terminal or severely incapacitating medical condition or
has a worsening prognosis that is likely to result in a terminal or severely incapacitating
medical condition and that care outside a correctional facility is medically appropriate.
Except as set out in this subsection, the prisoner must live in a hospital or other appropriate
care facility, such as a nursing facility, residential care facility or a facility that is a licensed
hospice program pursuant to Title 22, section 8622, approved by the commissioner. As
approved by the commissioner, the prisoner may receive hospice services from an entity
licensed pursuant to Title 22, chapter 1681, subchapter 1 or other care services provided by
an entity approved by the commissioner and, subject to approval by the commissioner, may
                                      Page 1 - 131LR1372(05)
live at home while receiving these services. The commissioner may exempt a prisoner
transferred to supervised community confinement pursuant to this subsection from any
mandatory condition under subsection 3 that the commissioner determines to be
inapplicable. The prisoner shall provide any information pertaining to the prisoner's
medical condition or care that is requested by the commissioner at any time while the
prisoner is on supervised community confinement. If the commissioner determines that
the prisoner has failed to fully comply with a request or if at any time the department's
director of medical care determines that the prisoner does not have a terminal or severely
incapacitating medical condition or a worsening prognosis that is likely to result in a
terminal or severely incapacitating medical condition or that care outside a correctional
facility is not medically appropriate, the commissioner shall revoke the transfer to
supervised community confinement.
    Sec. 3. 34-A MRSA §3036-A, sub-§12, as enacted by PL 2021, c. 376, §6, is
amended to read:
    12. Information for prisoners. The department shall make available to all prisoners
written information about supervised community confinement, including eligibility
requirements, the application process and the criteria and process for determining whether
a prisoner eligible for transfer to supervised community confinement may be approved for
transfer. The department shall include information about the determination and approval
process for prisoners who have a terminal or severely incapacitating medical condition or
have a worsening prognosis that is likely to result in a terminal or severely incapacitating
medical condition and for whom care outside a correctional facility is medically
appropriate. The department shall publish this information on its publicly accessible
website.
    Sec. 4. 34-A MRSA §3036-A, sub-§13, as amended by PL 2023, c. 399, §2, is
further amended to read:
     13. Data tracking. The department shall track data for all prisoners who apply for
supervised community confinement and approval, denial and, if approved, completion of
the program. The department also shall track data for all prisoners who are transferred to
supervised community confinement under subsection 10. Such data must include, but is
not limited to, demographic data regarding race and ethnicity, gender, age and convictions
leading to the prisoner's current incarceration. The department shall publish monthly on its
publicly accessible website the data tracked pursuant to this subsection in a manner that
does not violate the confidentiality requirements of section 1216 or any other provision of
state or federal law.
                                   Page 2 - 131LR1372(05)
Statutes affected: 
Bill Text ACTPUB , Chapter 659: 34-A.1402, 34-A.3036