APPROVED CHAPTER
JULY 7, 2025 496
BY GOVERNOR PUBLIC LAW
STATE OF MAINE
_____
IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD
TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-FIVE
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H.P. 794 - L.D. 1189
An Act to Allow an Attorney for the State to Determine Whether to Charge
Certain Class E Crimes as Civil Violations
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 17-A MRSA §19-A is enacted to read:
§19-A. Election to charge Class E crime as civil violation
1. For purposes of this section, "eligible Class E crime" means any Class E crime,
except a Class E crime:
A. In Title 21-A; or
B. For which the defendant, if convicted, would be eligible for probation or subject to
a mandatory driver's license suspension.
2. The attorney for the State may elect to charge a defendant alleged to have committed
an eligible Class E crime with a civil violation instead of the eligible Class E crime unless
the defendant was arrested and objects to the substitution of a civil violation charge. In
deciding whether to make this election, the attorney for the State shall consider the severity
of the defendant's conduct, the impact of the conduct on the victim, any prior convictions
or adjudications entered against the defendant and any other factor relevant to whether a
criminal or civil sanction will best accomplish the purposes of the general sentencing
provisions in that particular case.
3. The determination by the attorney for the State under this section is not subject to
judicial review. For a person who is charged with and adjudicated as having committed a
civil violation under this section, a penalty of not more than $1,000 may be adjudged. The
court shall inform the Secretary of State of any Class E crime under Title 29-A, including
the relevant statutory section, that was reduced to a civil violation when a person is
adjudicated of a civil violation under this section.
4. If the attorney for the State elects to charge a defendant with a civil violation instead
of a Class E crime under Title 29-A and the defendant is adjudicated as having committed
the civil violation, the court shall include in the abstract transmitted pursuant to Title 29-A,
section 2607 information on the Class E crime, including the statutory citation, that the
attorney for the State elected not to charge.
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 Sec. 2. Appropriations and allocations. The following appropriations and
allocations are made.
JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT
Courts - Supreme, Superior and District 0063
Initiative: Provides one-time funding associated with programming costs.
GENERAL FUND 2025-26 2026-27
All Other $3,900 $0
__________ __________
GENERAL FUND TOTAL $3,900 $0
Sec. 3. Effective date. This Act takes effect January 1, 2026.
Page 2 - 132LR2074(03)