WeVote
Log In

Bill

Bill

LD 532

An Act To Protect Health Care Workers By Addressing Assaults In Health Care Settings

132nd Legislature (2025-2026) Introduced by Mana Abdi and 9 co-sponsors

The bill would have strengthened penalties for assaults in health care settings and created a DHHS working group to report on prevention and enforcement.

Placed in Legislative Files (DEAD)
#assault #crimes #healthcareworkers
0
WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · LD 532

Summary — LD 532: An Act To Protect Health Care Workers By Addressing Assaults In Health Care Settings

Status: Placed in Legislative Files (DEAD)
Introduced: February 11, 2025
Sponsor: Rep. Stover of Boothbay
Committee: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Subjects: Assault; Crimes; Health care workers

Purpose / Intent

LD 532 was intended to strengthen protections for health care workers by changing criminal responses to assaults that occur in health care settings. The bill sought to address incidence of assaults against staff (e.g., nurses, clinicians, emergency department personnel) by adjusting criminal penalties and related procedures and directing study/implementation activities to better prevent and respond to such assaults.

Key provisions (summary of substantive effects)

The legislative record and fiscal notes do not include the full bill text here, but available documents indicate the bill would have included at least the following elements:
- Changes to how assaults that occur in health care settings are charged and penalized — sufficient to produce a “minimal number of new felony cases” in the courts (fiscal notes).
- Increased fines or statutory penalty changes that would generate some additional state revenue.
- Direction for the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to convene a working group and prepare a report for the Legislature (confirmed by fiscal notes and amendment language).
- Committee amendments (several iterations: LR1158(01), LR1158(02), LR1158(03), LR1158(05) and H-575/H-576) modified the bill during consideration; one House amendment added a one-time appropriation to fund the DHHS working group.

Because full text is not provided here, readers should consult the bill text (LD 532, LR 1158) for precise statutory language, definitions, and thresholds that would have triggered felony charging or other penalties.

Who would be affected

  • Health care workers (as intended beneficiaries) — protections and charging/penalty changes apply to assaults occurring in health care settings.
  • Patients/visitors alleged to have committed assaults — could face elevated charges in some circumstances.
  • Judicial and correctional systems — a very small increase in felony caseload is expected.
  • Department of Health and Human Services — responsible for convening a working group and reporting to the Legislature under the amended bill.

Fiscal impact

  • Overall: Minor cost increases to the General Fund; minor revenue increases to the General Fund and other special revenue funds (from additional fines).
  • Working group: One amendment included a one-time General Fund appropriation of $30,749 in FY 2025–26 to DHHS for contracted services to facilitate the working group and prepare the report. Other fiscal notes indicate any additional workloads can be absorbed within existing resources and do not require new ongoing appropriations.

Legislative history / procedural timeline (key actions)

  • 2025-02-11: Introduced and referred to Criminal Justice & Public Safety.
  • 2025-05-19: Work session; committee issued a divided report.
  • 2025-06-17: House actions included adoption of Committee Amendment B (H-576); the House accepted the Minority Ought to Pass as Amended report (Roll Call No. 567: Yeas 100 – Nays 46).
  • 2025-06-17: Senate moved to indefinitely postpone; Senate prevailed in non-concurrence (Roll Call No. 619: Yeas 25 – Nays 10).
  • 2025-06-18: Final actions left the measure in legislative files (dead) after the House and Senate failed to reach concurrence; motions to recede and concur failed, and the Senate insisted on indefinite postponement.

Current status and next steps

LD 532 is placed in the legislative files (dead) for the 132nd Legislature. Stakeholders interested in restoring or reintroducing similar protections should review the adopted amendments, fiscal notes, and the bill text (LD 532, LR 1158) on the Maine Legislature website to identify provisions that commanded majority support and those that did not.

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

Sign in to ask a question.