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LD950 • 2025

An Act to Increase Access to Protection from Abuse Orders by Allowing Children to File Protection from Abuse Orders on Their Own Behalf

An Act to Increase Access to Protection from Abuse Orders by Allowing Children to File Protection from Abuse Orders on Their Own Behalf

Children
Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Senator Donna Bailey
Last action
2025-05-30
Official status
Signed by the Governor
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

An Act to Increase Access to Protection from Abuse Orders by Allowing Children to File Protection from Abuse Orders on Their Own Behalf

An Act to Increase Access to Protection from Abuse Orders by Allowing Children to File Protection from Abuse Orders on Their Own Behalf Sponsor: Senator Donna Bailey Reference committee: Judiciary Governor action: Signed by the Governor

What This Bill Does

  • An Act to Increase Access to Protection from Abuse Orders by Allowing Children to File Protection from Abuse Orders on Their Own Behalf Sponsor: Senator Donna Bailey Reference committee: Judiciary Governor action: Signed by the Governor

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

Adopted by House & Senate

Plain English: Page 1 - 132LR0850(02) COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 1 L.D.

  • Page 1 - 132LR0850(02) COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 1 L.D.
  • 950 2 Date: (Filing No.
  • S- ) 3JUDICIARY 4 Reproduced and distributed under the direction of the Secretary of the Senate.
  • 5STATE OF MAINE 6SENATE 7132ND LEGISLATURE 8FIRST SPECIAL SESSION 9 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT “ ” to S.P.

Bill History

  1. 2025-05-30 Governor

    Signed by the Governor

  2. 2025-05-28 House

    PASSED TO BE ENACTED . Sent for concurrence. ORDERED SENT FORTHWITH.

  3. 2025-05-28 Senate

    PASSED TO BE ENACTED , in concurrence.

  4. 2025-05-21 Committee

    Reported Out; OTP-AM

  5. 2025-03-21 Committee

    Work Session Held

  6. 2025-03-21 Committee

    Voted; OTP-AM

  7. 2025-03-06 Committee

    Referred to Committee on Judiciary.

Official Summary Text

An Act to Increase Access to Protection from Abuse Orders by Allowing Children to File Protection from Abuse Orders on Their Own Behalf
Sponsor:
Senator Donna Bailey
Reference committee:
Judiciary
Governor action:
Signed by the Governor

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
Page 1 - 132LR0850(03)
STATE OF MAINE
_____
IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD
TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-FIVE
_____
S.P. 405 - L.D. 950
An Act to Increase Access to Protection from Abuse Orders by Allowing
Children to File Protection from Abuse Orders on Their Own Behalf
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 19-A MRSA §4103, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2023, c. 298, §§4 to 6, is
further amended to read:
2. Minor child Child. A child, a person responsible for a child, as defined in Title
22, section 4002, subsection 9, or a representative of the department when a minor child
has been:
A. A victim of abuse as defined in section 4102, subsection 1 by a family or household
member, a dating partner or an individual related by consanguinity or affinity; or
B. A victim of conduct:
(1) Described as stalking in Title 17‑A, section 210‑A;
(2) Constituting any crime described in Title 17‑A, chapter 11;
(3) Described as unauthorized dissemination of certain private images in Title
17‑A, section 511‑A;
(4) Described as aggravated sex trafficking or sex trafficking in Title 17‑A, section
852 or 853, respectively;
(5) Described as sexual exploitation of a minor or dissemination of sexually
explicit material in Title 17‑A, section 282 or 283, respectively;
(6) Described as harassment by telephone or by electronic communication device
in Title 17‑A, section 506, subsection 1, paragraph A‑1 or A‑2; or
(7) Constituting a civil cause of action under Title 14, section 8305.
For purposes of this paragraph, the conduct need not have been perpetrated by a family
or household member, a dating partner or an individual related by consanguinity or
affinity;
APPROVED
MAY 30, 2025
BY GOVERNOR
CHAPTER
158
PUBLIC LAW