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An Act To Create a County Jail Drug Rehabilitation and Treatment Grant Program
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  34-A MRSA §1219  is enacted to read:
§ 1219. County Jail Drug Rehabilitation and Treatment Grant Program
There is established the County Jail Drug Rehabilitation and Treatment Grant Program, referred to in this section as "the grant program," to provide state funding in the form of grants for the creation of drug rehabilitation and treatment programs or facilities attached to or affiliated with county jails or regional jails. Drug rehabilitation and treatment programs and facilities, to qualify for funding, must provide evidence-based rehabilitation and treatment, which may include, but is not limited to, detoxification services, medication-assisted treatment, clinical treatment, medical services, faith-based treatment, peer support, family support, self-care, recovery coaching and support services and educational services. A facility or program may be residential or provide outpatient or community-based services.
 
1.  Advice.     The department shall seek the advice of a statewide association of county commissioners and a statewide association of sheriffs in designing the grant program, adopting standards for awarding grants and periodically reviewing the effectiveness of the grant program.
 
2.  Availability.     The grant program is available to provide partial funding to eligible counties that are planning to affiliate with or build or convert a portion of county or regional jails or jail facilities for use as short-term or long-term residential drug rehabilitation and treatment facilities or programs or other county-based solutions to drug addiction within the scope of the grant.
 
3.  Awards; grading standards; priority list.     The department shall adopt grading standards for awarding grants that require county funding contributions to the drug rehabilitation and treatment facility or program of at least 50% of the cost, that take into consideration the level of support within the county for the facility or program and the level of county funding committed to the facility or program and that take into consideration the level of need in the county for a drug rehabilitation and treatment facility or program. The grading standards must give priority to a county that demonstrates a commitment to increasing the financial contributions of that county over time. The department shall compile a list of eligible counties that reflects priorities derived from the grading standards. The department shall update the standards and list of eligible counties as needed for the administration of the grant program.
 
4.  Funding.     The department shall accept funding from state, federal and community sources, including, but not limited to, private funding, to fund the grant program through the County Jail Drug Rehabilitation and Treatment Grant Program Dedicated Fund, which is established as a dedicated fund within the department. Funds of the County Jail Drug Rehabilitation and Treatment Grant Program Dedicated Fund do not lapse at the end of the fiscal year but carry forward to the next fiscal year. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, funds remaining and unencumbered at the end of a state fiscal year in any account of the department lapse on the first day of the new fiscal year to the County Jail Drug Rehabilitation and Treatment Grant Program Dedicated Fund.
 
5.  Rulemaking.     The department shall adopt rules to establish the grading standards for the grant program and the grading methodology for judging applications and to administer the grant program. Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules as defined by Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.
 
SUMMARY
This bill establishes the County Jail Drug Rehabilitation and Treatment Grant Program to provide state funding in the form of grants to partially fund the creation of drug rehabilitation and treatment facilities and programs attached to or affiliated with county jails or regional jails. The bill requires the Department of Corrections to seek the advice of a statewide association of county commissioners and a statewide association of sheriffs in designing, adopting standards for and periodically reviewing effectiveness of the grant program. The bill specifies that the grant program provides partial funding to counties that are planning to affiliate with or build or convert a portion of county or regional jails or jail facilities for use as short-term or long-term residential drug rehabilitation and treatment facilities or programs. The bill requires the department to adopt grading standards for awarding grants that require county funding contributions to the drug rehabilitation and treatment facility or program of at least 50% of the cost, that take into consideration the level of county support and county funding and that take into consideration county need. The department is directed to compile a priority list that reflects priorities derived from the grading standards. The bill allows the department to accept funding from private and public sources and provides for funding from the County Jail Drug Rehabilitation and Treatment Grant Program Dedicated Fund, which is established in the bill as a nonlapsing, dedicated fund. The bill provides that department funds remaining and unencumbered at the end of a state fiscal year lapse to the County Jail Drug Rehabilitation and Treatment Grant Program Dedicated Fund.