This bill is reported out by the Joint Standing Committee on Judiciary pursuant to Public Law 2025, chapter 40, section 5. The committee has not taken a position on the substance of this bill. By reporting this bill out, the committee is not suggesting and does not intend to suggest that it agrees or disagrees with any aspect of this bill. The committee is reporting the bill out for the sole purpose of having a bill printed that can be referred to the committee for an appropriate public hearing and subsequent processing in the normal course. The committee is taking this action to ensure clarity and transparency in the legislative review of the proposals contained in the bill. This bill enacts a provision of law that reproduces a provision of law that was automatically repealed on February 1, 2026. The bill, like the law that was automatically repealed, requires the Maine Commission on Public Defense Services to compensate a private attorney appointed by a District Court, a Superior Court or the Supreme Judicial Court to represent a person who is eligible to receive indigent legal services in a matter before that court if the attorney is both willing and qualified to undertake the representation and if no public defender, assigned counsel, contract counsel or employed counsel is available to represent the person. In the bill, this requirement expires on February 1, 2028.

Statutes affected:
Bill Text LD 2193, SP 894: 4.1805