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LD 654

An Act To Adjust The Maximum Small Claim Limit Based On The Consumer Price Index

132nd Legislature (2025-2026) Introduced by Christopher Kessler and 3 co-sponsors

Raises the Maine small-claims limit and links future adjustments to the CPI, so inflation preserves the threshold for individuals and small businesses in lower-cost courts.

Signed by Governor
#civilprocedure #claimlimits #smallclaims
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WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · LD 654

Summary — LD 654: An Act To Adjust The Maximum Small Claim Limit Based on the Consumer Price Index

Status: Signed by Governor (June 11, 2025)
Introduced: February 20, 2025
Classification/Subject: Civil procedure — small claims, claim limits

Purpose

LD 654 revises Maine’s small-claims statutory limit by increasing the maximum amount that may be pursued in small-claims court and tying adjustments to the Consumer Price Index (CPI). The intent is to update the small-claims threshold to reflect inflation so the dollar limit preserves its real value over time.

Key provisions (as reflected in available materials)

  • Raises the statutory maximum amount for which a plaintiff may file a small-claims action.
  • Establishes a mechanism to adjust that maximum periodically based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) (i.e., indexing the limit to inflation). The legislative materials received do not include the bill text with the exact dollar amounts, CPI series used, index base year, frequency of adjustments, or implementation formula.
  • Committee Amendment "A" (H-451) was adopted; the enacted bill is the engrossed version as amended by that committee amendment. The legislative record does not include the amendment’s detailed text in the provided documents.

Who is affected

  • Consumers and individuals: may bring or defend over slightly higher dollar disputes in small-claims court instead of higher-cost forums.
  • Small businesses and landlords: can use small-claims court for higher-value disputes within the new limit.
  • Courts and clerks: may process a modestly increased number and value of small-claims filings.
  • Attorneys: potential modest change in caseload composition; small-claims matters remain generally simpler and faster.

Fiscal and administrative impact

  • Fiscal notes (approved 05/01/25 and 06/04/25) estimate:
    • Minor cost increase to the General Fund (administrative/court processing).
    • Minor increase in General Fund revenue from additional filing fees collected.
    • The projected increase in case filings is small enough that no additional funding is required at this time.

Legislative/procedural history (selected)

  • Referred to Judiciary Committee upon introduction (Feb 20, 2025).
  • Work session and committee recommendation: Judiciary voted OTP-AM (with amendment).
  • Committee Amendment "A" (H-451) was adopted; the bill was passed to be engrossed as amended.
  • Passed both chambers (June 3–5, 2025) and signed by the Governor on June 11, 2025.

Notes and uncertainties

  • The public documents provided do not include the bill’s full statutory text, so precise numeric changes, the CPI series used, indexation formula, effective date, and administrative implementation details are not available here. For exact statutory language and effective date, consult the enrolled bill text or the Maine Legislature’s bill database.

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

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