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LD 640

An Act Requiring Certain Fees Charged By The Courts For Court-Ordered Payments Be Capped And Paid By The Defendant

132nd Legislature (2025-2026) Introduced by Bill Bridgeo and 5 co-sponsors

LD 640 caps court handling fees for court-ordered payments and makes the defendant pay them, shifting costs from victims to the defendant with no net state fiscal impact.

Signed by Governor
#civilprocedure #fees #forfeitures
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Bill Summary · LD 640

Summary — LD 640 (132nd Maine Legislature)

Title: An Act Requiring Certain Fees Charged By The Courts For Court-Ordered Payments Be Capped And Paid By The Defendant
Status: Signed by Governor (June 11, 2025)
Introduced: February 20, 2025
Subject areas: Civil procedure, court fees, forfeitures

Purpose

LD 640 directs that certain administrative fees the courts currently charge in connection with court‑ordered payments be subject to a statutory cap and that those fees be paid by the defendant (the person against whom the court order is entered). The stated intent is to limit the amount charged in connection with processing court‑ordered payments and to clarify who bears those costs.

Key provisions (based on available documents)

  • Requires that specified fees charged by the courts for handling court‑ordered payments be capped at a statutory limit. (The bill text with the exact capped amounts or the list of covered fees was not included in the materials provided.)
  • Specifies that those capped fees shall be borne by the defendant (rather than by victims, payees, or third parties), shifting legal responsibility for the fee payment to the person ordered to pay.
  • Committee Amendment “A” (H‑452) was adopted during the legislative process; the engrossed version incorporating that amendment was passed and enacted. The amendment text was not provided in the summary materials.

Who is affected

  • Defendants: Will be legally responsible for paying the capped court processing fees associated with their court‑ordered payments. Depending on the bill’s detailed definitions, this may apply to criminal fines, restitution processing, forfeitures, or other court‑ordered monetary obligations.
  • Payment recipients (e.g., victims) and third parties: May see reduced risk of bearing administrative fees previously deducted or assessed against payments they receive.
  • Courts and court clerks: Will need to apply the new fee caps and adjust billing/collection procedures; however, fiscal notes indicate no net fiscal impact to the State’s budget.

Fiscal impact

  • Two fiscal notes (04/29/2025 and 06/04/2025 for the engrossed version) conclude: No fiscal impact. That suggests the change is not expected to materially increase or decrease state or local court revenues/expenditures under current practice.

Legislative timeline / procedure

  • Referred to Judiciary Committee (Feb 20, 2025). Work session and committee action resulted in OTP‑AM (ought to pass as amended).
  • Carried over to next session per Joint Order (Mar 21), then reported out as amended and adopted by both chambers (June 3–4, 2025).
  • Passed to be enacted and signed by the Governor on June 11, 2025.

Notes / Next steps

  • The summary materials do not include the bill text or the specific dollar caps or exact list of covered fees. For precise implementation details (exact caps, definitions, effective date, and any transitional rules), consult the enrolled bill (final statute language) or the Maine Revised Statutes once the law is codified.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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