An Act to Improve Family Court Procedure

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132nd MAINE LEGISLATURE
FIRST REGULAR SESSION-2025
Legislative Document No. 504
S.P. 222 In Senate, February 11, 2025
An Act to Improve Family Court Procedure
Received by the Secretary of the Senate on February 7, 2025. Referred to the Committee
on Judiciary pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed.
DAREK M. GRANT
Secretary of the Senate
Presented by Senator CARNEY of Cumberland.
Cosponsored by Representative HENDERSON of Rumford and
Senators: BAILEY of York, STEWART of Aroostook, Representatives: BABIN of Fort
Fairfield, CARUSO of Caratunk, KUHN of Falmouth, O'HALLORAN of Brewer, POIRIER of
Skowhegan.

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1Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
2Sec. 1. 19-A MRSA §1653, sub-§3, ¶O, as amended by PL 2021, c. 647, Pt. B,
3 §46 and affected by §65, is further amended to read:
4 O. A parent's prior willful misuse of the emergency parental rights and responsibilities
5 order process in section 1653-B or the protection from abuse process in former chapter
6 101 or chapter 103 in order to gain tactical advantage in a proceeding involving the
7 determination of parental rights and responsibilities of a minor child. Such willful
8 misuse may be considered only if established by clear and convincing evidence and if
9 it is further found by clear and convincing evidence that, in the particular circumstances
10 of the parents and child, that willful misuse tends to show that the acting parent will in
11 the future have a lessened ability and willingness to cooperate and work with the other
12 parent in their shared responsibilities for the child. The court shall articulate findings
13 of fact whenever relying upon this factor as part of its determination of a child's best
14 interest. The voluntary dismissal of a motion for an emergency parental rights and
15 responsibilities order or a protection from abuse petition may not, taken alone, be
16 treated as evidence of the willful misuse of the emergency parental rights and
17 responsibilities order process or the protection from abuse process;
18Sec. 2. 19-A MRSA §1653-B is enacted to read:
19§1653-B. Emergency parental rights and responsibilities order
201. Motion. A party to an action under this Title concerning parental rights, including
21 actions for divorce, legal separation, parentage or parental rights and responsibilities and
22 post-judgment proceedings arising out of these actions, may file a motion requesting that
23 the court issue an emergency parental rights and responsibilities order with respect to a
24 child on an ex parte basis upon a showing of immediate and present risk of substantial harm
25 to the physical or emotional health or safety of the child. A motion may not be filed under
26 this section as part of a protection from abuse proceeding under chapter 103.
272. Affidavit required. A motion for an emergency parental rights and responsibilities
28 order must be accompanied by an affidavit made under oath alleging:
29 A. The conditions establishing an immediate and present risk of substantial harm to
30 the physical or emotional health or safety of the child; and
31 B. The actions taken by the party filing the request to inform the other party or parties
32 to the proceeding of the motion or the reasons why the court should consider the request
33 without requiring notice to the other party.
343. Temporary relief. The court may, in an ex parte proceeding, enter an emergency
35 parental rights and responsibilities order containing any relief that the court considers
36 necessary to address the immediate and present risk of substantial harm to the physical or
37 emotional health or safety of the child. An order issued under this subsection may include:
38 A. An allocation of parental rights and responsibilities between the parties;
39 B. Conditions governing parent-child contact, including but not limited to prohibiting
40 parent-child contact;
41 C. Directives regarding the residence of the child, including but not limited to
42 authorizing or prohibiting relocation of the child; and
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1 D. Any other relief determined appropriate in the discretion of the court.
24. Denial of motion. Before denying a motion for an emergency parental rights and
3 responsibilities order, the court shall:
4 A. Allow the moving party to be heard, accompanied by a person of the party's choice;
5 and
6 B. Advise the moving party of the reasons for the denial.
75. Service. A party who files a motion for an emergency parental rights and
8 responsibilities order under this section shall:
9 A. If the court issues an order under subsection 3, arrange for the motion, affidavit and
10 order to be personally served on the other party in a manner allowed by the applicable
11 rule of civil procedure along with the original complaint or post-judgment motion that
12 accompanied the motion, if any; or
13 B. If the court denies the motion under subsection 4, arrange for the motion, affidavit
14 and order denying the motion to be served on the other party in a manner allowed by
15 the applicable rule of civil procedure along with the original complaint or post-
16 judgment motion that accompanied the motion, if any.
176. Hearing. If the court enters an order under subsection 3, the court shall hold a
18 hearing within 21 days of the issuance of the order. The scope of the hearing is limited to
19 the necessity of continuing the temporary relief granted in the emergency parental rights
20 and responsibilities order. This section does not limit the court's discretion to continue the
21 hearing upon the court's own motion or upon the motion of either party. If the court denies
22 the motion under subsection 4, the parties are not entitled to a hearing under this subsection
23 and the court may enter a scheduling order or any other order that the interests of justice
24 require.
257. Dissolution or modification. A party whose parental rights are affected by an
26 emergency parental rights and responsibilities order issued under subsection 3, other than
27 the party who requested the order, may appear and move for the dissolution or modification
28 of the order before the scheduled hearing. The motion must be accompanied by a sworn
29 affidavit. The court shall schedule a hearing on the motion as expeditiously as the interests
30 of justice require.
318. Jurisdiction; procedure. A motion for an emergency parental rights and
32 responsibilities order under this section may be reviewed and an order may be issued by a
33 District Court Judge or a family law magistrate. The clerk shall present the motion to a
34 District Court Judge or family law magistrate upon docketing. If no judge or family law
35 magistrate is available at the courthouse in which the request is made, the clerk shall
36 forward the motion to any available judicial officer within the State.
37Sec. 3. Working group. The Maine Commission on Domestic and Sexual Abuse,
38 established in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 5, section 12004-I, subsection 74-C, shall
39 convene a working group of stakeholders including commission members, representatives
40 of the judicial branch, family law practitioners, members of the Family Law Advisory
41 Commission established in Title 5, section 12004-I, subsection 52-A, representatives of a
42 statewide coalition to end domestic violence and any others that the commission determines
43 to be necessary participants. To the extent possible, the members of the working group
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44 must be the same as the members of the working group established pursuant to Resolve
45 2021, chapter 99.
31. Duties. The working group shall review data provided by the judicial branch for at
4 least 2 years following implementation of this Act, including data on the number of requests
5 for emergency parental rights and responsibilities orders filed, the number of emergency
6 parental rights and responsibilities orders issued, the average time between the filing of a
7 request and the hearing on that request, if any, and any other data determined by the judicial
8 branch to be useful for evaluating efficacy of the new process.
92. Report; legislation. The commission shall submit a report to the joint standing
10 committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over judiciary matters no later than
11 November 1, 2028. The report must identify the working group's participants, summarize
12 the activities of the working group and include any conclusions made by the working group
13 regarding the effectiveness of the emergency parental rights and responsibilities order
14 process established in Title 19-A, section 1653-B. The report may include the working
15 group's recommendations for further improving the family court response to families with
16 urgent safety concerns. The joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction
17 over judiciary matters may report out legislation to the 134th Legislature in 2029 based on
18 the report.
19Sec. 4. Effective date. This Act takes effect January 1, 2026.
20SUMMARY
21 Beginning January 1, 2026, this bill authorizes a party to a divorce, legal separation,
22 parentage or parental rights and responsibilities proceeding or a post-judgment motion
23 arising out of one of these actions to file a motion requesting that the court issue an ex parte
24 emergency parental rights and responsibilities order on the basis that there is an immediate
25 and present risk of substantial harm to the physical or emotional health or safety of a child.
26 The order may be issued by a District Court Judge or a family law magistrate and may
27 include a temporary allocation of parental rights and responsibilities between the parties in
28 the underlying action, conditions of parent-child contact and directives regarding the
29 residence of the child. If a judge or magistrate issues an emergency parental rights and
30 responsibilities order ex parte, the court must hold a hearing within 21 days to determine
31 the need for continuation of the temporary relief granted in the order. A party affected by
32 the emergency parental rights and responsibilities order, other than the party that requested
33 the order, may file a motion to modify or to dissolve the order, which the court must hear
34 as expeditiously as the interests of justice require.
35 The bill also directs the Maine Commission on Domestic and Sexual Abuse to convene
36 a working group of stakeholders, similar to the working group established by Resolve 2021,
37 chapter 99, to review data from the judicial branch gathered for at least 2 years following
38 implementation of the emergency parental rights and responsibilities order process
39 established in this legislation to evaluate the efficacy of the process. The bill directs the
40 commission to submit a report regarding the working group's findings to the joint standing
41 committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over judiciary matters by November 1,
42 2028. The committee may report out legislation to the 134th Legislature in 2029 in
43 response to the report.
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