# Maine LD 1849: An Act to Establish a Minimum Age at Which Conduct Constitutes a Juvenile Crime and to Confer Jurisdiction to the Juvenile Courts Over Any Criminal Offense Under Maine Law Committed by a Juvenile Maine LD 1849, An Act to Establish a Minimum Age at Which Conduct Constitutes a Juvenile Crime and to Confer Jurisdiction to the Juvenile Courts Over Any Criminal Offense Under Maine Law Committed by a Juvenile, is a 132nd Maine Legislature (2025-2026) House bill sponsored by Suzanne Salisbury (Democratic); status signed, last action 2025-06-27 (Signed by Governor, ACTPUB Chapter 431); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-19). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ME-LD1849-132 - As of: 2026-10-19 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Maine LD 1849 - State: Maine - Session: 132nd Maine Legislature (2025-2026) - Title: An Act to Establish a Minimum Age at Which Conduct Constitutes a Juvenile Crime and to Confer Jurisdiction to the Juvenile Courts Over Any Criminal Offense Under Maine Law Committed by a Juvenile - Status: signed - Chamber: House - Introduced: 2025-04-30 - Last action: 2025-06-27, Signed by Governor, ACTPUB Chapter 431 - Sponsor: Suzanne Salisbury (Democratic) - Cosponsors: 3 - Subjects: JUVENILE OFFENDERS, JUVENILE OFFENDERS - ADJUDICATION - Touches household money: yes - Roll calls: 2 (96 yes, 86 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 7 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Time limits and no retroactive cases: benefit, low. Beginning June 27, 2025, the State must start cases for several listed juvenile offenses within one year of the conduct. The law does not apply to conduct that happened before June 27, 2025. Older cases stay under the old rules. - Juvenile fines: no minimums, up to $1,000: cost, medium. The law ends mandatory minimum fines for juveniles. Courts can still order fines under the general sentencing rules. For certain listed juvenile offenses and juvenile crimes under fish and wildlife or motor vehicle laws, the fine can be up to $1,000. - DUI and hunting cases skip screening: cost, low. Some juvenile cases for hunting under the influence and for certain DUI crimes do not follow the usual screening. A petition can be filed without a juvenile corrections officer’s recommendation. These cases follow the special filing rules in section 3203‑A. - Teen driver suspensions and public records: cost, low. If a corrections officer does not seek a petition for certain drug or alcohol possession or transport by a minor, the Secretary of State must suspend the juvenile’s driving rights for 30 days. For juveniles with a commercial license, the Secretary must suspend the commercial credential under federa… - Arrest and proof rules for juveniles: mixed, low. Police and private people cannot arrest a juvenile without a warrant for certain listed drug or liquor offenses. In court, some juvenile charges must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Others in the listed drug or liquor categories may be proven by a preponderance of the evidence. If the State do… - Old juvenile statutes repealed for alignment: mixed, low. The law repeals several older statutes in multiple titles to match the new juvenile rules. This clears out conflicts and moves procedures into the updated code. - Who is a juvenile and what counts: mixed, low. Beginning June 27, 2025, the law sets who is a juvenile and what is a juvenile crime. Most cases cover ages 11 to 17. For murder, felony murder, and manslaughter (including attempts), anyone under 18 is a juvenile. More acts now count as juvenile crimes, including some drug and alcohol offenses and… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Suzanne Salisbury (Democratic), House - Cosponsor: David Sinclair (Democratic), House - Cosponsor: Michael Brennan (Democratic), House - Cosponsor: Robert Nutting (Republican), House ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2025-06-17 | House | ACC MAJ OTP AS AMENDED REP | pass | 76 | 71 | | | 2025-06-17 | Senate | ACCEPT MAJORITY OUGHT TO PASS AS AMENDED REPORT | pass | 20 | 15 | | ## Actions (7) - 2025-06-27: Signed by Governor, ACTPUB Chapter 431 - 2025-06-18: PASSED TO BE ENACTED, in concurrence. (Senate) - 2025-06-18: PASSED TO BE ENACTED. Sent for concurrence. ORDERED SENT FORTHWITH. (House) - 2025-06-17: Reports ReadOn motion by Senator BEEBE-CENTER of Knox the Majority Ought to Pass as Amended Report ACCEPTED. PREVAILED Roll Call Ordered Roll Call Number 615 Yeas 20 - Nays 15 - Excused 0 - Absent 0 Bill READ ONCE Committee Amendment "A" (H-758) READ and ADOPTED Under suspension of the Rules, READ A SECOND TIME and PASSED TO BE ENGROSSED AS AMENDED by Committee Amendment "A" (H-758) in concurrence (Senate) - 2025-06-17: Reports READ.On motion of Representative HASENFUS of Readfield, the Majority Ought to Pass as Amended Report was ACCEPTED.ROLL CALL NO. 562(Yeas 76 - Nays 71 - Absent 2 - Excused 2)The Bill was READ ONCE.Committee Amendment "A" (H-758) was READ and ADOPTED.Under suspension of the rules, the Bill was given its SECOND READING without REFERENCE to the Committee on Bills in the Second Reading.The Bill was PASSED TO BE ENGROSSED as Amended by Committee Amendment "A" (H-758). Sent for concurrence. ORDERED SENT FORTHWITH. (House) - 2025-04-30: The Bill was REFERRED to the Committee on CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND PUBLIC SAFETY in concurrence (Senate) - 2025-04-30: Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety suggested and ordered printed. The Bill was REFERRED to the Committee on CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND PUBLIC SAFETY.Sent for concurrence. ORDERED SENT FORTHWITH. (House) ## Bill text - Amendment C-A (H-758), adopted by House & Senate: [PDF](https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/getPDF.asp?paper=HP1233&item=2&snum=132) - Enacted: [PDF](https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/getPDF.asp?paper=HP1233&item=3&snum=132) - Introduced: [PDF](https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/getPDF.asp?paper=HP1233&item=1&snum=132) ## Related bills - LD 1522: An Act to Establish the Maine Eviction Prevention Program (failed) - LD 1665: An Act to Provide Property Tax Relief to Maine Families (failed) - LD 1872: An Act to Reinvest in the Pension Funds of the Maine Public Employees Retirement System (failed) - LD 2067: An Act to Include Community Mental Health Workers Under the 1998 Special Plan for Retirement (failed) - LD 1611: An Act to Decrease the Retirement Contributions Required for Teachers and State Employees (failed) - LD 1294: An Act to Expand the Dependent Exemption Tax Credit (failed) ## Sources - [Amendment C-A (H-758), adopted by House & Senate (PDF)](https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/getPDF.asp?paper=HP1233&item=2&snum=132) - [Enacted (PDF)](https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/getPDF.asp?paper=HP1233&item=3&snum=132) - [Introduced (PDF)](https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/getPDF.asp?paper=HP1233&item=1&snum=132) ## Related - [LD 1522: An Act to Establish the Maine Eviction Prevention Program](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ME-LD1522-132) - [LD 1665: An Act to Provide Property Tax Relief to Maine Families](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ME-LD1665-132) - [LD 1872: An Act to Reinvest in the Pension Funds of the Maine Public Employees Retiremen…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ME-LD1872-132) - [LD 2067: An Act to Include Community Mental Health Workers Under the 1998 Special Plan f…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ME-LD2067-132) - [LD 1611: An Act to Decrease the Retirement Contributions Required for Teachers and State…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ME-LD1611-132) - [LD 1294: An Act to Expand the Dependent Exemption Tax Credit](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ME-LD1294-132) - [Maine bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/maine/bills) - [Maine state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/maine) - [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ME-LD1849-132 (as of 2026-10-19).