Public Safety Accomplishments from the 124th Maine Legislature
Maine’s OUI Laws
Two laws were passed this session that
dealt with Maine’s
operating under the influence laws. One made changes to the
ignition interlock law, specifying that ignition interlock
provisions
apply to motor vehicle license suspensions issued by the Secretary
of
State, as well as to court-ordered suspensions.
Another clarifies
the manner in which a person's alcohol level is determined. Current
law regarding OUI specifies a blood-alcohol
level. Now the presence and level of alcohol may be determined
by using breath or blood testing.
Residency Restrictions for Sex Offenders
A new law will go into place that allows municipalities to adopt
ordinances restricting where a sex offender can live. This law
sets a new standard by allowing towns to adopt an ordinance saying
that sex offenders may not live within 750 feet of schools or playgrounds.
Motor Vehicle Violation Resulting in Death
Anyone who commits a traffic infraction, while driving in Maine,
that results in a death will now be charged with a civil violation.
The penalty for this civil violation is a mandatory license suspension
of up to 4 years and may also include a fine up to $5,000 and community
service.
Updating Maine’s Fire Prevention and Protection Laws
The Legislature recently modernized Maine’s law that applies
to smoke detectors (a law that hasn’t been updated in eleven
years) and to create a new law to deal with carbon monoxide detectors.
An Act to Protect Maine Residents from Home Fires and Carbon Monoxide
requires all newly-constructed single family and multi-apartment
dwellings constructed or sold in the state to have both smoke detectors
and carbon monoxide detectors that meet certain specifications
and are installed in certain locations within those residential
units.
Domestic Violence
Two new working groups have been established, this session, concerning
domestic violence. The first was created to establish a process
to assess dangerousness and more effectively monitor those who
commit domestic violence crimes. The working group will look at
how other states’ effectively use electronic monitoring and
offender management programs.
The second working group will look into how firearms play into
domestic violence cases across Maine. The group will look at incorporating
Maine laws that pertain to prohibiting the possession of firearms
by anyone convicted of domestic violence in order to match federal
law.
The Advisory Committee on Bias-based Profiling by Law Enforcement
Officers and Law Enforcement Agencies
The Legislature created a new advisory committee to develop a
model policy on bias-based profiling, to assess whether or not
bias-based profiling occurs in Maine and to making recommendations
to address the matter if it does extensively occur.
The committee must also make recommendations to the Maine Criminal
Justice Academy to develop training courses on the subject of bias-based
profiling, as well as establish a method for outreach and public
awareness campaigns designed educate advocacy groups and the general
public about law enforcement practices and procedures.
