Maine Jurors May Soon See Pay Raise To $50 A Day
Currently in Maine if you get called for jury duty you'll be making about $15 per day. A new bill could change to $50 per day. That's the new bill lawmakers are taking into consideration. But first they'll have to come to an agreement on what the pay raise amount should be. The last pay raise for Maine jurors was back in 2016 when the daily rate went from $10 a day up to $15, and the mileage reimbursement rose from 15 cents per mile to 44 cents per mile. The $50 per day payout will put Maine at the top of the pay scale for jurors after being near the bottom for years.
According to the Bangor Daily News, the Legislature’s judiciary committee endorsed raising juror pay last week, but is undecided on how large the increase should be. Eight committee members voted for the proposed $50 rate, while three voted for a $10 increase to $25 per day. However there are still two committee members that have yet to vote.
If approved, the change take effect as soon as October 1st, and would raise the judiciary’s annual budget from $500,000 to $1 million.