CHAPTER 400
S.P. 110 - L.D. 328
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 4 MRSA §17, sub-§15, as amended by PL 1993, c. 675, Pt. C, §7, is repealed and the following enacted in its place:
15. Provide for court security. Plan and implement arrangements for safe and secure court premises to ensure the orderly conduct of judicial proceedings.
A. The State Court Administrator may contract for the services of qualified individuals as needed on a per diem basis to perform court security-related functions and services.
(1) For the purposes of this subsection, "qualified individuals" means individuals who are certified pursuant to Title 25, section 2804-B or 2804-C and have successfully completed additional training in court security provided by the Maine Criminal Justice Academy or equivalent training.
(2) When under contract pursuant to this paragraph and then only for the assignment specifically contracted for, qualified individuals have the same duties and powers throughout the counties of the State as sheriffs have in their respective counties.
(3) Qualified deputy sheriffs performing contractual services pursuant to this paragraph continue to be employees of the counties in which they are deputized.
(4) Qualified individuals other than deputy sheriffs performing contractual services pursuant to this paragraph may not be considered employees of the State for any purpose, except that they must be treated as employees of the State for purposes of the Maine Tort Claims Act and the Maine Workers' Compensation Act of 1992. They must be paid reasonable per diem fees plus reimbursement of actual, necessary and reasonable expenses incurred in the performance of their duties, consistent with policies established by the State Court Administrator.
B. The State Court Administrator may employ other qualified individuals to perform court security-related functions and services as court security officers.
(1) Court security officers employed under this paragraph must be certified pursuant to Title 25, section 2803-A, subsection 8-B.
(2) When on assignment for court security functions, court security officers have the same powers and duties throughout the counties of the State as sheriffs have in their respective counties.
(3) Court security officers employed under this paragraph are state employees for all purposes.
C. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the plans, arrangements and files involving court security matters are confidential. Nothing in this section precludes dissemination of that information to another criminal justice agency;
Sec. 2. 25 MRSA §2801-A, sub-§2-A is enacted to read:
2-A. Court security officer. "Court security officer" means a law enforcement officer employed by the Judicial Branch to provide security and protection to the Judicial Branch and the courts located within the State.
Sec. 3. 25 MRSA §2801-B, sub-§1, ¶¶H and I, as repealed and replaced by PL 2001, c. 710, §11 and affected by §12, are amended to read:
H. The State Fire Marshal; or
I. The Chief of the Bureau of Liquor Enforcement within the Department of Public Safety.; or
Sec. 4. 25 MRSA §2801-B, sub-§1, ¶J is enacted to read:
J. A court security officer.
Sec. 5. 25 MRSA §2803-A, sub-§8-B is enacted to read:
8-B. Training of court security officers. To establish certification standards and a preservice and in-service training program for court security officers. This program must include:
A. Preservice law enforcement training under section 2804-B;
B. An additional 40-hour basic court security training program developed and approved by the board that is specific to the duties of a court security officer; and
C. In-service law enforcement training that is specifically approved by the board as prescribed in section 2804-E.
Court security officers are exempt from section 2804-C, but completion of basic training under section 2804-C exempts a person from the preservice training requirement under paragraph A;
Sec. 6. 25 MRSA §2804-K is enacted to read:
§2804-K. Law enforcement training for court security officers
As a condition to the continued employment of any person as a full-time court security officer, that person must successfully complete, within the first 12 months of employment, the training required under section 2803-A, subsection 8-B. Thereafter, as a condition of continued employment as a full-time court security officer, the officer must satisfactorily maintain the court security officer certification by completing recertification requirements prescribed by the board. The board, under extenuating and emergency circumstances in individual cases, may extend that period for not more than 90 days.
Effective September 13, 2003, unless otherwise indicated.
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