PLEASE NOTE: Legislative Information cannot perform research, provide legal advice, or interpret Maine law. For legal assistance, please contact a qualified attorney.
Amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting the following:
‘An Act To Amend the Laws on Gross Sexual Assault, Unlawful Sexual Contact and Unlawful Sexual Touching To Include Counseling Professionals’
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and inserting the following:
‘Sec. 1. 17-A MRSA §253, sub-§2, ¶I, as repealed and replaced by PL 2011, c. 691, Pt. A, §13, is amended to read:
 
I. The actor is a psychiatrist, a psychologist or licensed as a social worker or counseling professional or purports to be a psychiatrist, a psychologist or licensed as a social worker or counseling professional to the other person and the other person, not the actor's spouse, is a current patient or client of the actor. Violation of this paragraph is a Class C crime;
Sec. 2. 17-A MRSA §255-A, sub-§1, ¶U, as repealed and replaced by PL 2011, c. 691, Pt. A, §14, is amended to read:
 
U. The actor is a psychiatrist, a psychologist or licensed as a social worker or counseling professional or purports to be a psychiatrist, a psychologist or licensed as a social worker or counseling professional to the other person and the other person, not the actor's spouse, is a current patient or client of the actor. Violation of this paragraph is a Class D crime;
Sec. 3. 17-A MRSA §255-A, sub-§1, ¶V, as repealed and replaced by PL 2011, c. 691, Pt. A, §15, is amended to read:
 
V. The actor is a psychiatrist, a psychologist or licensed as a social worker or counseling professional or purports to be a psychiatrist, a psychologist or licensed as a social worker or counseling professional to the other person and the other person, not the actor's spouse, is a current patient or client of the actor and the sexual contact includes penetration. Violation of this paragraph is a Class C crime;
Sec. 4. 17-A MRSA §260, sub-§1, ¶K, as repealed and replaced by PL 2011, c. 691, Pt. A, §16, is amended to read:
 
K. The actor is a psychiatrist, a psychologist or licensed as a social worker or counseling professional or purports to be a psychiatrist, a psychologist or licensed as a social worker or counseling professional to the other person and the other person, not the actor's spouse, is a current patient or client of the actor. Violation of this paragraph is a Class D crime;’
 
SUMMARY
This amendment replaces the bill and provides a new title. The amendment amends the law on gross sexual assault, unlawful sexual contact and unlawful sexual touching to include all licensed counseling professionals as the actors in the gross sexual assault, unlawful sexual contact and unlawful sexual touching.
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED
(See attached)