LD 2235

132nd MAINE LEGISLATURE
  SECOND REGULAR SESSION-2026
Legislative Document  No. 2235
H.P. 1511  House of Representatives, March 17, 2026
  Resolve, to Direct the Department of Corrections to Study
  Alternative Methods for Operating County Jails
    Reported by Representative HASENFUS of Readfield for the Joint Standing Committee on
Criminal Justice and Public Safety pursuant to Resolve 2025, chapter 73, section 2.
    Reference to the Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety suggested and ordered
printed pursuant to Joint Rule 218.
  ROBERT B. HUNT
  Clerk
  Printed on recycled paper
1    Sec. 1. Working group established. Resolved: That the Department of
2 Corrections shall convene a working group to study alternative methods for operating
3 county jails, referred to in this resolve as "the working group."
4      Sec. 2. Working group membership. Resolved: That the working group consists
5 of the Commissioner of Corrections, or the commissioner's designee, who serves as chair
6 of the working group, and, at a minimum, the following 9 members:
7    1. Two members selected by the board of directors of the Lincoln and Sagadahoc
8 Multicounty Jail Authority;
9    2. Two members appointed by the commissioner, selected from a list of nominations
10 submitted by a statewide association of county commissioners;
11    3. Two members appointed by the commissioner, selected from a list of nominations
12 submitted by a statewide association of sheriffs;
13    4. One member appointed by the commissioner, selected from a list of nominations
14 submitted by a statewide association representing municipalities; and
15     5. Two members appointed at the commissioner's discretion.
16     Sec. 3. Duties. Resolved: That the working group shall:
17    1. Review the legislative history leading to the establishment of the State Board of
18 Corrections and the unification of state and county correctional services pursuant to Public
19 Law 2007, chapter 653;
20      2. Review the State Board of Corrections' historical statutory duties and authority prior
21 to its repeal pursuant to Public Law 2015, chapter 335;
22     3. Examine, to the extent practicable, other states that operate jails and prisons under a
23 unified system through a state department of corrections or equivalent state entity to
24 determine whether a unified system would be appropriate in this State;
25     4. Examine, to the extent practicable, county jail management models in other states to
26 determine whether there is a more efficient, effective and lower-cost model than the
27 existing county jail management system in this State; and
28     5. Review historical jail regionalization efforts in this State and determine best methods
29 and funding strategies to assist counties that are interested in jail regionalization.
30     Sec. 4. Report. Resolved: That, no later than December 1, 2027, the working group
31 shall submit a report that includes its findings and recommendations based on its duties
32 under section 3, including suggested legislation, to the joint standing committee of the
33 Legislature having jurisdiction over corrections matters. The committee may submit
34 legislation based on the report to the Second Regular Session of the 133rd Legislature.
35SUMMARY
36      This bill directs the Commissioner of Corrections to establish a working group to study
37 alternative methods for operating county jails. The working group must review the history
38 of the former State Board of Corrections, examine other states' county jail management
39 models, review historical jail regionalization efforts in this State and determine the best
40 methods and funding strategies to assist counties that are interested in jail regionalization.
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1 No later than December 1, 2027, the working group must submit to the joint standing
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2 committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over corrections matters a report that
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3 includes the working group's findings and recommendations for alternative methods for
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4 operating county jails. The committee may submit legislation based on the report to the
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5 Second Regular Session of the 133rd Legislature.
6     This bill is reported out by the Joint Standing Committee on Criminal Justice and
7 Public Safety pursuant to Resolve 2025, chapter 73. The committee has not taken a position
8 on the substance of the bill, and by reporting this bill out, the committee is not suggesting
9 and does not intend to suggest that it agrees or disagrees with any aspect of this bill. The
10 committee is reporting the bill out for the sole purpose of obtaining a printed bill that can
11 be referred to the committee for a public hearing and subsequent committee action in the
12 normal course.
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