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An Act To Clarify and Amend Certain Provisions of Law Regarding Victim Services
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 17-A MRSA §1175, first ¶, as amended by PL 2013, c. 133, §10, is further amended to read:
Upon complying with subsection 1, a victim of a crime of murder or of a Class A, Class B or Class C crime or of a Class D crime under chapters 9, 11 and 12 for which the defendant is committed to the Department of Corrections or to a county jail or is committed to the custody of the Commissioner of Health and Human Services either under Title 15, section 103 after having been found not criminally responsible by reason of insanity or under Title 15, section 101-D after having been found incompetent to stand trial must receive notice of the defendant's unconditional release and discharge from institutional confinement upon the expiration of the sentence or upon release from commitment under Title 15, section 101-D or upon discharge under Title 15, section 104-A and must receive notice of any conditional release of the defendant from institutional confinement, including probation, supervised release for sex offenders, parole, furlough, work release, funeral or deathbed visit, supervised community confinement, home release monitoring or similar program, administrative release or release under Title 15, section 104-A. For purposes of this section, "victim" also includes a person who has obtained under Title 19-A, section 4007 an active protective order or approved consent agreement against the defendant.
Sec. 2. 17-A MRSA §1175, sub-§1, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 680, §5, is amended to read:
 
1.    A victim who wishes to receive notification must file a request for notification of the defendant's release with the office of the attorney for the State. The attorney for the State shall forward this request form to the Department of Corrections, to the state mental health institute or to the county jail to which that defendant is committed. Notwithstanding this subsection, a victim who wishes to receive notification regarding a defendant who is committed to the Department of Corrections may file a request for notification of the defendant's release directly with the Department of Corrections.
Sec. 3. 17-A MRSA §1175, sub-§3, ¶B, as amended by PL 2013, c. 133, §11, is further amended to read:
 
B. The nature of the release authorized, whether it is a conditional release, including probation, supervised release for sex offenders, parole, furlough, work release, funeral or deathbed visit, supervised community confinement, home release monitoring or a similar program, administrative release or release under Title 15, section 104-A, or an unconditional release and discharge upon release from commitment under Title 15, section 101-D or upon the expiration of a sentence or upon discharge under Title 15, section 104-A;
Sec. 4.  17-A MRSA §1203, sub-§1-A, ¶B-1  is enacted to read:
 
B-1.  The court may revoke probation if, during an unsuspended portion of the term of imprisonment:
 
(1) The person has contact with a victim with whom the person has been ordered not to have contact as a condition of probation; or
 
(2) In the case of a person who has been committed to the Department of Corrections, the person has contact with any victim with whom the person has been prohibited to have contact by the Department of Corrections.
 
"Victim," as used in this paragraph, has the same meaning as in section 1171, subsection 2 and section 1175.
Sec. 5. 34-A MRSA §1214, sub-§1, ¶¶A and B, as enacted by PL 2001, c. 439, Pt. G, §1, are repealed.
Sec. 6. 34-A MRSA §1214, sub-§2, ¶¶A and B, as enacted by PL 2001, c. 439, Pt. G, §1, are amended to read:
 
A. The Victim Services Coordinator shall report only to the commissioner or an associate commissionerthe commissioner's designee.
 
B. The Victim Services Coordinator shall, with the approval of the commissioner or an associate commissionerthe commissioner's designee, select other victim advocates needed to carry out the intent of this section and who shall report only to the Victim Services Coordinator.
 
SUMMARY
This bill adds to the protections of the victim notification laws by requiring victim notification of funeral and deathbed visits by prisoners, by adding to the definition of "victim" a person who has obtained from a court a protection from abuse order or received court approval for a protection from abuse consent agreement and by allowing victims to request notification directly from the Department of Corrections.
It allows a court to revoke the probation of an offender who has contact with a victim during incarceration if contact has been prohibited by a condition of probation or by the department.
It also eliminates 2 redundant statutory provisions regarding the department's Victim Services Coordinator and allows the Commissioner of Corrections to delegate supervision of the coordinator.