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132nd MAINE LEGISLATURE
FIRST SPECIAL SESSION-2025
Legislative Document No. 1646
S.P. 643 In Senate, April 15, 2025
An Act to Amend Maine's Good Samaritan Laws Regarding
Suspected Drug-related Overdoses
(AFTER DEADLINE)
Approved for introduction by a majority of the Legislative Council pursuant to Joint Rule
205.
Reference to the Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety suggested and ordered
printed.
DAREK M. GRANT
Secretary of the Senate
Presented by Senator TALBOT ROSS of Cumberland.
Cosponsored by Representative HASENFUS of Readfield and
Senators: BEEBE-CENTER of Knox, BENNETT of Oxford, CURRY of Waldo, MOORE of
Washington, Representatives: BLIER of Buxton, CARLOW of Buxton, CRAFTS of
Newcastle, LAJOIE of Lewiston.
Page 1 - 132LR2430(01)
1Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
2Sec. 1. 17-A MRSA §1111-B, first ¶, as enacted by PL 2021, c. 724, §1, is
3 amended to read:
4 When a medical professional or law enforcement officer has been dispatched to the a
5 location of a medical emergency in response to a call for assistance for a suspected drug-
6 related overdose or a call for assistance for a person exhibiting symptoms of a drug-related
7 overdose, the following provisions apply to any protected person at the location when the
8 medical professional or the law enforcement officer arrives. The immunity provisions of
9 subsections 2 and 3 apply for the duration of the response to the medical emergency and
10 end when the medical professional or law enforcement officer leaves the location of the
11 medical emergency.
12Sec. 2. 17-A MRSA §1111-B, sub-§1, ¶D is enacted to read:
13 D. "Symptom of a drug-related overdose" means any physical, cognitive or behavioral
14 condition that may reasonably indicate that a person is experiencing a potentially life-
15 threatening reaction to drug use. This includes, but is not limited to, altered mental
16 status, such as confusion, disorientation, unresponsiveness, agitation or paranoia;
17 impaired or irregular breathing, such as shallow, slow, erratic or absent respiration;
18 abnormal skin appearance, such as discoloration in skin tone, excessive sweating or
19 clamminess; changes in consciousness, such as unconsciousness, difficulty staying
20 awake or sudden collapse; involuntary bodily functions, such as vomiting, seizures,
21 incontinence or loss of motor control; abnormal vocalizations or respiratory sounds,
22 such as choking, gurgling, gasping or loud snoring and any other symptom that could
23 reasonably be associated with drug ingestion, use or exposure.
24Sec. 3. 17-A MRSA §1111-B, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 2021, c. 724, §1, is
25 amended to read:
262. Immunity from arrest or prosecution. Except with regard to an excluded crime,
27 a protected person is immune from arrest or prosecution for a violation of law if:
28 A. The grounds for the arrest or prosecution are obtained as a result of a medical
29 professional's or law enforcement officer's responding to a request for medical
30 assistance; or
31 B. The identity of the protected person is learned or the protected person is identified
32 as a person subject to arrest or prosecution as a result of a medical professional's or law
33 enforcement officer's responding to a request for medical assistance.
34Sec. 4. 17-A MRSA §1111-B, sub-§3, as enacted by PL 2021, c. 724, §1, is
35 amended to read:
363. Immunity from revocation or termination proceedings. Except when the charge
37 or conviction is for an excluded crime, a protected person is immune from revocation
38 proceedings with regard to conditions of release as described in Title 15, chapter 105‑A,
39 subchapter 5; probation as described in chapter 67, subchapter 1; administrative release as
40 described in chapter 67, subchapter 2; or supervised community confinement as described
41 in Title 34‑A, section 3036‑A and is immune from termination proceedings for deferred
42 disposition violations as described in chapter 67, subchapter 4 or termination from
43 community confinement monitoring as described in Title 30‑A, section 1659‑A, if:
Page 2 - 132LR2430(01)
1 A. The grounds for the revocation or termination proceeding against the protected
2 person are obtained as a result of a medical professional's or law enforcement officer's
3 responding to a request for medical assistance; or
4 B. The identity of the protected person is learned or the protected person is identified
5 as a person subject to a revocation or termination proceeding as a result of a medical
6 professional's or law enforcement officer's responding to a request for medical
7 assistance.
8SUMMARY
9 This bill updates the provisions regarding immunity from arrest, prosecution and
10 revocation and termination proceedings when assistance has been requested for a suspected
11 drug-related overdose to remove references to medical emergencies and expands the scope
12 to include calls for assistance for a person exhibiting symptoms of a drug-related overdose.
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