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Maine law and legislation : Maine State Law and Legislative Reference Library

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Bills

Bills - Votes at referenda

Session laws

Statutes

Legislative history

Cases

Court rules

Regulations

Constitution

Municipal ordinances
 

Bills
Maine Legislature Bill Tracking & Text Search - Search form and drop-down menus for finding text of legislative documents and their accompanying enacted amendments from the current session back to the 116th Session (1993). Bill tracking information dates back to the 112th (1985).

Bill Summaries (Office of Policy and Legal Analysis) - Links to PDF documents containing bill summaries arranged by committee. A link at the bottom of the page access earlier sessions.

Bill Summaries (Office of Fiscal and Program Review) - PDF documents summarizing bills considered by the Appropriations and Financial Affairs committee and the Taxation committee back to the 118th Legislature. Summaries describe each bill (LD), primary sponsor/s, committee amendments and other relevant amendments, final action taken on the bill and, if the bill was enacted, its chaptered law number. 

Maine's Path of Legislation - Detailed description of how a bill becomes a law in Maine.

 

Bills - Votes at referenda
People's Vetoes 1909-

Votes on Bond Issues 1910-

Votes on Initiated Bills 1910-

Votes on Referenda on Acts of the Maine Legislature 1910-

 

Session laws
Laws of the State of Maine - Text of the public laws, private and special laws, resolves, constitutional resolutions and revisor's reports. Accessible by legislative session then by law chapter number.

Private and Special Laws - Description of private and special laws and discussion of the indexes used for finding them. 

 

Statutes
Maine Revised Statutes - List of links for each title in the statutes and a link to a search form for keyword and title and section searches.

Maine Statutes Ruled Unconstitutional -A table identifying those Maine Statutes which have been ruled unconstitutional (U), unconstitutional in part (Up), void or invalid (V), or void or invalid in part (Vp). The table also identifies the cases which made the ruling. The methodology of the research was accomplished by Shepardizing each Maine statute and then following up with a review of each case. The table also includes a listing of which Shepard’s volume identified the statute in question.

 

Legislative history
Chapter/LD Cross Reference Tables - PDF documents upon which you can do a "find" to identify corresponding LD or chapter numbers. Information on enacted amendments is also available unless where noted. Covers 1965-1985.

Compiling a Legislative History in Maine - Description of documents that make up a Maine legislative history and how to find them with links for documents on the Internet.

History and Final Disposition - Gives the final status of all Legislative Documents. Includes sponsor and committee names, as well as identifies any adopted amendments to the original bill or new drafts. Published by the Legislative Information Office and available online from 1997 on, except for 2001-2002.

Legislative Histories Compiled by the Staff of Maine State Law and Legislative Reference Library - A title and call number list of all the compiled and catalogued legislative histories, of major issues such as the bottle bill, casino gambling and term limits, available for loan. 

Legislative Record - Verbatim transcript of debates and proceedings in the House and Senate for each legislative day.

Legislative Study Reports, staffed by either :

The State of Online Legislative Research and What Makes a Good Legislative History / By Susan H. Paschell. Maine and New Hampshire legislative history processes and resources explained by an attorney.

Cases
For Maine cases decided in the federal courts see the Federal Law and Legislation page

Maine Superior Court Cases - Simple search for Maine Supreme Court opinions or orders on the Maine Judiciary's website.

Maine Supreme Court - Search form and links for lists of cases and administrative orders.

Court rules
Maine Rules of Professional Conduct - Adopted by the Maine Supreme Judicial Court with an effective date of August 1, 2009. On the same date Maine Bar Rule 2-A (Aspirational Goals for Lawyer Professionalism), Maine Bar Rule 3 (Code of Professional Responsibility) and Maine Bar Rule 8 (Contingent Fees) were abrogated, as they were replaced by the Maine Rules of Professional Conduct.

Court Rules - A state court page containing all electronically-available court rules and amendments, including appellate, civil, criminal and small claims procedure, bar rules, and family division.

Regulations
Maine Rules Online - Links for departments and independent agencies leading to lists of rules in word processing format.

Constitution
Constitution - Links to the preamble and articles.

Constitution, 1820 version (PDF)

Legislative History of the Amendments to the State of Maine Constitutition, 1820 to Present -- A four-binder printed history compiled by Bob Michaud. Includes bills, amendments, debate and news clippings. We have a copy available for loan.

Proposed Constitutional Legislation, 1820 to the Present - A table, researched by Law Library staff, listing all Maine constitutional legislation proposed since 1820. The list is arranged chronologically by session and includes bill numbers, bill titles, final disposition and any corresponding referendum votes.

Enacted Constitutional Amendments 1834-
A table of Maine constitutional resolves which were approved by voters. Includes titles, election results, enacted law citation and effective date, and the constitutional section affected.

Maine Statutes Ruled Unconstitutional -A table identifying those Maine Statutes which have been ruled unconstitutional (U), unconstitutional in part (Up), void or invalid (V), or void or invalid in part (Vp). The table also identifies the cases which made the ruling. The methodology of the research was accomplished by Shepardizing each Maine statute and then following up with a review of each case. The table also includes a listing of which Shepard’s volume identified the statute in question.

 

Municipal ordinances
Maine Town & City Ordinances (Garbrecht Law Library) - List of towns and cities arranged by county with links for those with web sites.

Municipal Codes Online (MMA) - Links to codes adopted under the home rule provisions of the Maine Constitution.

 

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