An Act To Fairly Distribute the Debt Burden between the State and County Correctional Functions
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 30-A MRSA §701, sub-§2-C is enacted to read:
2-C. County and state debt assessment for inmates at Two Bridges Regional Jail. Notwithstanding subsection 2-B, counties with inmates at Two Bridges Regional Jail must be assessed a portion of the Lincoln County and Sagadahoc County debt pursuant to Title 34-A, section 1803, subsection 12, to be collected by those counties from the municipalities within those counties for the purpose of retiring county debt. The State must be assessed a portion of the Lincoln County and Sagadahoc County debt pursuant to Title 34-A, section 1803, subsection 12 for the purpose of retiring county debt.
Sec. 2. 34-A MRSA §1803, sub-§12 is enacted to read:
12. Debt service formula for Two Bridges Regional Jail. By January 1, 2015 and each January 1st thereafter, the board shall develop a formula to distribute the cost of debt service for Two Bridges Regional Jail to counties, including Lincoln County and Sagadahoc County, and the State in proportion to the number of inmates from each county and the State and calculate the State's and the counties' proportionate share of debt service cost pursuant to this formula for the following fiscal year. The cost of debt service for each county and for the State determined by this formula must be included in the budget of each county and the State.
summary
This bill requires the State Board of Corrections to develop a formula to distribute the cost of debt service for Two Bridges Regional Jail to counties and to the State in proportion to the number of inmates each county and the State has in the jail. The formula must be updated 12 months prior to the beginning of each biennium and the cost of debt service must be included in the budgets of each county and the State.