APPROVED CHAPTER
JUNE 11, 2021 171
BY GOVERNOR PUBLIC LAW
STATE OF MAINE
_____
IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD
TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-ONE
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S.P. 204 - L.D. 521
An Act To Modify the Rule-making Process for Establishing County and
Municipal Jail Standards
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 34-A MRSA §1208, sub-§1, as enacted by PL 1983, c. 581, §§10 and 59,
is amended to read:
1. Establishment. The commissioner shall establish both mandatory and desirable
standards for all county and municipal detention facilities, setting forth requirements for
maintaining safe, healthful and secure facilities. Standards adopted pursuant to this
subsection must be evidence-based, must take into consideration cost impact and must
reflect best practices for the operation and administration of jails.
Sec. 2. 34-A MRSA §1208-B, as corrected by RR 2019, c. 2, Pt. A, §32, is amended
to read:
§1208-B. Standards, policies and procedures applicable to jails
1. Establishment. The commissioner shall establish mandatory standards, policies
and procedures for jails. The standards, policies and procedures must be established by
rule and must be evidence-based, must take into consideration cost impact and must reflect
best practices for the administration and operation of jails. The rules must include policies
and procedures for assisting jails to achieve compliance and for imposing penalties for
noncompliance.
A. The standards, policies and procedures must address record keeping and reporting
of financial data, capital improvement planning, jail staffing, administration and
management of prisoners, transfer of inmates, notification to prisoners of prohibition
on contact with victims and other persons, pretrial assessments and services, evidence-
based programming, literacy programs, mental health and substance use disorder
programs and correctional officer training.
B. In administering and distributing funding to the jails pursuant to section 1210‑D,
subsection 4, the commissioner shall:
(1) Require reporting of data that indicates average daily population of prisoners,
that excludes federal prisoners, that indicates sending and receiving jails for
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 transferred prisoners and that is useful in calculating the distributions to the
counties pursuant to section 1210‑D, subsection 4; and
(2) Consider the performance of each jail in meeting the standards established
pursuant to this section. The commissioner shall work with the jails to assist them
in achieving compliance with the standards. The commissioner shall enforce the
standards by imposition of monetary penalties upon a county for noncompliance
by the county jail or regional jail. A monetary penalty imposed under this
subsection may not in any fiscal year exceed the County Jail Operations Fund
distribution payable to a county for a fiscal year pursuant to section 1210-D,
subsection 4.
2. Rulemaking. Rules adopted pursuant to this section are routine technical rules as
defined by Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2‑A. Rules adopted pursuant to this section
must take effect January 1, 2016.
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Statutes affected:
Bill Text LD 521, SP 204: 34-A.1208
Bill Text ACTPUB , Chapter 171: 34-A.1208