An Act To Deny Employment-related Benefits to State Employees Convicted of a Felony Involving the Misuse or Theft of Government Funds

Sec. 1. 3 MRSA §2,  as amended by PL 2011, c. 380, Pt. QQQQ, §1, is further amended by adding at the end a new paragraph to read:

The salary, expenses and travel of a member under this section are subject to the provisions of Title 5, section 7051, subsection 8 and section 17062, subsection 1, paragraph A-1.

Sec. 2. 5 MRSA §7051, sub-§8  is enacted to read:

Sec. 3. 5 MRSA §17062, sub-§1, ¶A,  as enacted by PL 2011, c. 606, §12, is amended to read:

Sec. 4. 5 MRSA §17062, sub-§1, ¶A-1  is enacted to read:

Sec. 5. 17-A MRSA §1160  is enacted to read:

§ 1160.  Crimes by state employees involving theft or misuse of public funds

If a person is convicted of a crime involving the theft or misuse of public funds committed while the person was an employee of the State and the penalties for the crime are equal to or greater than the penalties for a Class C crime, the court shall follow the provisions of Title 5, section 7051, subsection 8 and section 17062, subsection 1, paragraph A-1.

summary

This bill provides that if a person is convicted of a crime with penalties equal to or greater than the penalties for a Class C crime and the crime involves the misuse or theft of public funds and was committed when the person was a state employee, a court must order the forfeiture of any earned or future compensation or benefits, including benefits under the Maine Public Employees Retirement System.