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Joint Study Order Establishing the Blue Ribbon Commission To Study the State Board of Corrections and the Unified County Corrections System
ORDERED, the Senate concurring, that, notwithstanding Joint Rule 353, the Blue Ribbon Commission To Study the State Board of Corrections and the Unified County Corrections System, referred to in this order as "the commission," is established as follows.
1. Membership. The commission consists of the following members:
A. Three county commissioners, one of whom is appointed by the President of the Senate and 2 of whom are appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives from a list of 5 county commissioners submitted by the Maine County Commissioners Association;
B. Three county administrators, 2 of whom are appointed by the President of the Senate and one of whom is appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives from a list of 5 county administrators submitted by the Maine Association of County Administrators and Managers;
C. Two jail administrators, one of whom is appointed by the President of the Senate and one of whom is appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives from a list of 4 jail administrators submitted by the Maine Jail Administrators Association;
D. Two sheriffs, one of whom is appointed by the President of the Senate and one of whom is appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives from a list of 4 sheriffs submitted by the Maine Sheriffs Association; and
E. A member of the public, appointed jointly by the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
 
The President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall invite the Commissioner of Corrections, or the commissioner's designee, and the chair of the State Board of Corrections to participate as members.
2. Chair. The public member appointed pursuant to subsection 1, paragraph F serves as chair of the commission.
3. Appointments; convening. All appointments must be made no later than 30 days following the passage of this order. The appointing authorities shall notify the Executive Director of the Legislative Council once all appointments have been completed. When the appointment of all members has been completed, the chair shall call and convene the first meeting of the commission. If 30 days or more after passage of this order a majority of but not all appointments have been made, the chair may request authority and the Legislative Council may grant authority for the commission to meet and conduct its business.
4. Duties. The commission shall:
A. Review the current structure of the county jail corrections system, including but not limited to its source of revenues, the predictability of costs and revenues and strengths and weaknesses of the current system, in order to determine methods for long-term sustainability of funding, best practices and necessary processes;
B. Review and propose revisions, if necessary, to the mission and authority of the State Board of Corrections; and
C. Clarify the structure and authority of the unified system of corrections and the State Board of Corrections and develop recommendations to strengthen centralization of the system and control and coordination of operations.
5. Staff assistance. The Legislative Council may seek the provision of staffing services from a nonlegislative entity, including the Maine County Commissioners Association. The Legislative Council may not incur any costs for staffing services provided pursuant to this subsection.
6. Outside funding. The commission shall seek funding contributions to fully fund the costs of the study. All funding is subject to approval by the Legislative Council in accordance with its policies. If sufficient contributions to fund the study have not been received within 30 days after the passage of this order, no meetings are authorized and no expenses of any kind may be incurred or reimbursed.
7. Report. No later than December 4, 2013, the commission shall submit a report that includes its findings and recommendations, including suggested legislation, to the Joint Standing Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety.