Maine § 34-A §1208 Standards for county and municipal detention facilities

Maine Statutes

§ 34-A §1208 — Standards for county and municipal detention facilities

Maine § 34-A §1208

Title 34-ACORRECTIONS

Ch. 1GENERAL PROVISIONS

This text of Maine § 34-A §1208 (Standards for county and municipal detention facilities) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Maine primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 34-A, § 34-A §1208 (2026).

Text

The commissioner shall establish standards, pursuant to the Maine Administrative Procedure Act, Title 5, chapter 375, for county and municipal jails, holding facilities and short-term detention areas, referred to in this section as county and municipal detention facilities, as follows and shall enforce them.

1.Establishment. The commissioner shall establish both mandatory and desirable standards for all county and municipal detention facilities, setting forth requirements for maintaining safe, healthful and secure facilities. Standards adopted pursuant to this subsection must be evidence-based, must take into consideration cost impact and must reflect best practices for the operation and administration of jails.

2.Inspections. Inspections of county and municipal detention facilities are

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The commissioner shall establish standards, pursuant to the Maine Administrative Procedure Act, Title 5, chapter 375, for county and municipal jails, holding facilities and short-term detention areas, referred to in this section as county and municipal detention facilities, as follows and shall enforce them.
1.
Establishment.
The commissioner shall establish both mandatory and desirable standards for all county and municipal detention facilities, setting forth requirements for maintaining safe, healthful and secure facilities. Standards adopted pursuant to this subsection must be evidence-based, must take into consideration cost impact and must reflect best practices for the operation and administration of jails.
2.
Inspections.
Inspections of county and municipal detention facilities are governed as follows.
3.
Standards compliance.
Each county and municipal detention facility shall, unless granted a variance pursuant to subsection 5, comply with the mandatory standards established by the commissioner.
4.
Emergency powers.
The commissioner may take immediate action in response to noncompliance with a mandatory standard, if the noncompliance is determined to endanger the safety of the staff, inmates or visitors of any county or municipal detention facility.
5.
Variances.
The commissioner shall establish written procedures to govern the submission and consideration of requests for variances from established departmental standards, including provisions for department consideration of appeals of decisions.
6.
Advisory review.
7.
Technical assistance.
The commissioner may provide technical assistance to county and municipal detention facilities to facilitate compliance with standards.
8.
Standards regarding attorney-client communications.
The commissioner shall establish mandatory standards:

Legislative History

PL 1983, c. 581, §§10,59 (NEW). PL 2007, c. 102, §6 (AMD). PL 2013, c. 27, §§1, 2 (AMD). PL 2021, c. 171, §1 (AMD). PL 2023, c. 135, §2 (AMD). PL 2023, c. 394, Pt. A, §13 (AMD).