AUGUSTA, Maine — Gov. Janet Mills vetoed Tuesday a proposal aimed at ending Maine’s “three strikes” law for petty theft cases.
The House and Senate had voted mostly along party lines last month to pass the bill from Rep. David Sinclair, D-Bath, that would prevent prosecutors from charging a person with two or more prior theft convictions with a Class C felony if the person steals less than $500 worth of property.
It would do away with the “three strikes” law that attempts to crack down on repeat offenders. Sinclair had said the “felon” label should be reserved for those convicted of “truly serious crimes.”
“Petty theft, however, is not such a crime and should not be of equal collateral consequence as these more serious violations — not even for a repeat petty theft offender,” Sinclair said.
But Mills, a former prosecutor and attorney general, vetoed the bill Tuesday, writing that “limiting the ability of prosecutors to charge a third theft as a felony — and undermining the ability of the courts to impose terms of probation on a person who is committing repeated offenses — will take away an important tool to hold people accountable.”
The Democratic governor said it would make Maine an “outlier” among New England states and noted a Forbes report in December ranked Maine the third worst state nationally behind Washington state and Washington, D.C., for the prevalence and impact of retail theft. Mills said she heard from Maine-based retailers “upset at this proposed change who fear their losses will only grow if this bill becomes law.”
Any changes to the criminal code should receive “broad input” from affected parties and a “thorough review” by the state’s Criminal Law Advisory Commission, Mills added.
The Democratic-controlled Legislature will have the opportunity to overturn the governor’s vetoes before adjourning this month, with an override requiring support from at least two-thirds of lawmakers. Mills’ only other veto so far this session was of a bill from Rep. Sophie Warren, D-Scarborough, to further limit noncompete clauses.
