CHAPTER 182

S.P. 311 - L.D. 970

An Act To Allow a Judge To Assess a Fee on a Defendant To

Reimburse a Municipality for a Drug Test

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:

Sec. 1. 15 MRSA §1702, as amended by PL 1989, c. 104, Pt. C, §§8 and 10, is repealed and the following enacted in its place:

§1702.__No punishment until conviction; costs

1.__No punishment before conviction.__A person may not be punished for an offense until convicted of that offense in a court having jurisdiction over the person and case.

2.__Costs included in sentence.__If a person is convicted and the court imposes a fine, the court:

A.__May sentence the defendant to pay the costs of prosecution;

B.__May sentence the defendant to pay, as restitution, the costs of drug tests, other than tests under Title 29-A, administered to the defendant by a law enforcement officer or medical personnel at the request of a law enforcement officer.__The court shall transfer all amounts paid by a defendant under this paragraph to the municipal, county or state agency that incurred the costs; and

C.__Shall, if the case is prosecuted in District Court, sentence the defendant to pay a fine sufficient to cover the costs as provided in Title 4, section 173.__This paragraph