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LD1953 • 2025

An Act to Ensure Public Access to Conservation Land by Providing Protections from Liability to Landowners

An Act to Ensure Public Access to Conservation Land by Providing Protections from Liability to Landowners

Agriculture Land
Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Senator Stacy Brenner
Last action
2025-06-10
Official status
Signed by the Governor
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

An Act to Ensure Public Access to Conservation Land by Providing Protections from Liability to Landowners

An Act to Ensure Public Access to Conservation Land by Providing Protections from Liability to Landowners Sponsor: Senator Stacy Brenner Reference committee: Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Governor action: Signed by the Governor

What This Bill Does

  • An Act to Ensure Public Access to Conservation Land by Providing Protections from Liability to Landowners Sponsor: Senator Stacy Brenner Reference committee: Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Governor action: Signed by the Governor

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

Adopted by House & Senate

Plain English: Page 1 - 132LR2482(02) COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 1 L.D.

  • Page 1 - 132LR2482(02) COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 1 L.D.
  • 1953 2 Date: (Filing No.
  • S- ) 3AGRICULTURE, CONSERVATION AND FORESTRY 4 Reproduced and distributed under the direction of the Secretary of the Senate.
  • 5STATE OF MAINE 6SENATE 7132ND LEGISLATURE 8FIRST SPECIAL SESSION 9 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT “ ” to S.P.

Bill History

  1. 2025-06-10 Governor

    Signed by the Governor

  2. 2025-06-03 Senate

    PASSED TO BE ENACTED , in concurrence.

  3. 2025-06-02 House

    PASSED TO BE ENACTED . Sent for concurrence. ORDERED SENT FORTHWITH.

  4. 2025-05-29 Committee

    Reported Out; OTP-AM

  5. 2025-05-15 Committee

    Work Session Held

  6. 2025-05-15 Committee

    Voted; OTP-AM

  7. 2025-05-07 Committee

    Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry.

Official Summary Text

An Act to Ensure Public Access to Conservation Land by Providing Protections from Liability to Landowners
Sponsor:
Senator Stacy Brenner
Reference committee:
Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry
Governor action:
Signed by the Governor

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
Page 1 - 132LR2482(03)
STATE OF MAINE
_____
IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD
TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-FIVE
_____
S.P. 761 - L.D. 1953
An Act to Ensure Public Access to Conservation Land by Providing
Protections from Liability to Landowners
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 14 MRSA §159-A, sub-§4, ¶B, as amended by PL 1995, c. 566, §1, is
further amended by amending subparagraph (1) to read:
(1) The landowner or the landowner's agent by the State; or
Sec. 2. 14 MRSA §159-A, sub-§4, ¶B, as amended by PL 1995, c. 566, §1, is
amended by enacting a new subparagraph (3) to read:
(3) The landowner or grantor who grants, and the holder or grantee who accepts,
an easement or other legal instrument that makes an express grant of perpetual
public access over premises for the public to pursue recreational or harvesting
activities; or
Sec. 3. 14 MRSA §159-A, sub-§7 is enacted to read:
7. Perpetual grant of public access. A landowner or other grantor who grants, and a
holder or grantee who accepts, an easement or other legal instrument that includes a
perpetual right of public access over premises for the public to pursue one or more
recreational or harvesting activities, in reliance on the protections from liability established
by this section as they exist at the time of the grant, as evidenced by an instrument recorded
in the registry of deeds for the county in which the premises are located, acquires a
permanent vested property right to those protections for any rights so granted, which runs
to their heirs, successors and assigns.
APPROVED
JUNE 10, 2025
BY GOVERNOR
CHAPTER
256
PUBLIC LAW