130th MAINE LEGISLATURE
FIRST REGULAR SESSION-2021
Legislative Document No. 696
H.P. 508 House of Representatives, March 4, 2021
An Act To Prohibit Solitary Confinement in Maine's Corrections
System
Received by the Clerk of the House on March 2, 2021. Referred to the Committee on
Criminal Justice and Public Safety pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to
Joint Rule 401.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative LOOKNER of Portland.
Cosponsored by Representatives: MORALES of South Portland, RECKITT of South Portland,
TALBOT ROSS of Portland, WARREN of Hallowell, Senator: CHIPMAN of Cumberland.
Printed on recycled paper
 1 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
2 Sec. 1. 30-A MRSA §1566 is enacted to read:
3 §1566. Solitary confinement prohibited
4 A jail may not impose solitary confinement on a prisoner. For purposes of this section,
5 "solitary confinement" has the same meaning as in Title 34-A, section 1001, subsection
6 17-A.
7 Sec. 2. 34-A MRSA §1001, sub-§17-A is enacted to read:
8 17-A. Solitary confinement. "Solitary confinement" means the segregation of a
9 prisoner during which the prisoner has contact with another person less than 3 times per
10 24-hour period.
11 Sec. 3. 34-A MRSA §3032, sub-§2-A is enacted to read:
12 2-A. Solitary confinement. Solitary confinement may not be imposed.
13 Sec. 4. 34-A MRSA §3032, sub-§3, ¶E, as enacted by PL 1983, c. 459, §6, is
14 amended to read:
15 E. If a person is held in segregation or solitary confinement for more than 5 days, the
16 chief administrative officer shall send a report of the confinement to the commissioner,
17 giving the reasons for the confinement.
18 SUMMARY
19 This bill prohibits solitary confinement in jails and prisons in the State. It defines
20 "solitary confinement" to mean that a prisoner is segregated and has contact with another
21 person less than 3 times a day.
Page 1 - 130LR1899(01)


Statutes affected:
Bill Text LD 696, HP 508: 34-A.3032