An Act to Implement the Recommendations of the Maine Abandoned and Discontinued Roads Commission

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STATE OF MAINE
_____
IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD
TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-FIVE
_____
H.P. 1332 - L.D. 1985
An Act to Implement the Recommendations of the Maine Abandoned and
Discontinued Roads Commission
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 14 MRSA §159-E is enacted to read:
§159-E. Limited liability for repairs and maintenance of public easement
1. Definitions. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the
following terms have the following meanings.
A. "Public easement" has the same meaning as in Title 23, section 3021, subsection 2
and as described in Title 23, section 3022.
B. "Repairs and maintenance" includes, but is not limited to, snowplowing, snow
removal, sanding and ice control; grading and adding gravel and surface material;
installing reclaimed asphalt or grinding existing pavement for reuse; installing,
cleaning and replacing culverts; creating and maintaining ditches, drains and other
storm water management infrastructure; creating and maintaining sight distances on
curves and at intersections; and cutting brush, trees and vegetation in the right-of-way.
2. Limitation of liability; repairs and maintenance of public easement. Except as
otherwise provided in this section, an owner, lessee or occupant of property abutting a
public easement or a portion of a public easement, including, but not limited to, a road
association formed under Title 23, Part 3, chapter 305, subchapter 2 and a member of that
road association, or an agent of such persons, is not liable for personal injury, property
damage or death caused by:
A. Repairs and maintenance conducted on that public easement by the owner, lessee
or occupant, or the agent of such persons, if the repairs and maintenance were
conducted in order for the owner, lessee or occupant to access the owner's, lessee's or
occupant's property over the public easement from a public way; or
B. Public access or public use of the public easement.
3. Exception; dangerous conditions. The limitations in subsection 2 do not limit any
liability that may otherwise exist for a willful or malicious creation of, or failure to guard
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or warn against, a dangerous condition on a public easement that is reasonably known to
an owner, lessee or occupant of property abutting the public easement.
4. Duty not created. This section does not create a duty of care for an owner, lessee
or occupant of property abutting a public easement to keep, or grounds for liability for
injury to a person or property for failure to keep, a public easement safe for public access
or public use for persons entering the public easement for such purposes.
5. Landowner liability for environmental damage by others. In accordance with
this section, an owner, lessee or occupant of property abutting a public easement, including,
but not limited to, a road association formed under Title 23, Part 3, chapter 305, subchapter
2 and a member of that road association, or an agent of such persons, that conducts repairs
and maintenance on the public easement or suffers the public access or use of the public
easement:
A. In accordance with Title 12, section 685-C, subsection 11 and Title 38, section
347-A, subsection 7, is not subject to criminal sanctions or civil penalties or forfeitures
for a violation of laws or rules enforced by the Maine Land Use Planning Commission
or the Department of Environmental Protection, as applicable, if the owner, lessee or
occupant provides substantial credible evidence to the Maine Land Use Planning
Commission or the Department of Environmental Protection, as applicable, that the
violation was committed by a person other than the owner, lessee or occupant or a
contractor, employee or agent of the owner, lessee or occupant; and
B. Notwithstanding Title 12, section 685-C, subsection 11 and Title 38, section 347-A,
subsection 7, if the owner, lessee or occupant provides the substantial credible evidence
described in paragraph A, the owner, lessee or occupant may not be held responsible
for remediating or abating the environmental damage caused by the violation or for the
costs of such remediation or abatement.
6. Legal costs; attorney's fees. If an owner, lessee or occupant of property abutting
a public easement or a portion of a public easement, including, but not limited to, a road
association formed under Title 23, Part 3, chapter 305, subchapter 2 and a member of that
road association, or an agent of such persons, that conducts repairs and maintenance on the
public easement or suffers the public access or use of the public easement is found not
liable for personal injury, property damage or death pursuant to this section, the court shall
award the owner, lessee or occupant any direct legal costs, including reasonable attorney's
fees.
Sec. 2. 23 MRSA §3105-A, as amended by PL 2023, c. 642, §2, is further amended
to read:
§3105-A. Use of town equipment
The legislative body of any town or village corporation at a legal town or village
corporation meeting may authorize the municipal officers of the town or assessors of the
village corporation to use the town's or village corporation's highway equipment on private
ways public easements within such town or village corporation to plow, maintain or repair
those private ways public easements to the extent directed by the legislative body and
whenever such municipal officers or assessors consider it advisable in the best interest of
the town or village corporation for fire and police protection. As used in this section,
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"public easement" has the same meaning as in section 3021, subsection 2 and as described
in section 3022.
1. Repairs and maintenance of public easements. The municipal officers of a town
or the assessors of a village corporation, on their own initiative or upon written petition
pursuant to Title 30-A, section 2521 of the owners, lessees or occupants of property used
as year-round primary residences that are located along or only accessible over one or more
public easements, may request the legislative body of the town or village corporation to
vote to provide a minimum level of year-round repairs and maintenance for the public
easement or easements. The minimum level of year-round repairs and maintenance for a
public easement or easements that may be provided by a town or village corporation under
this subsection:
A. May be provided up to the driveway of the last year-round primary residence that
is located along or only accessible over the public easement and that is furthest from
the nearest public way;
B. Must be lower than the standard for maintenance of highways, town ways and
streets under section 3651;
C. May include annual grading, repair, maintenance, snowplowing and replacement
of drains and culverts as required to keep the public easement reasonably passable for
residential access as determined by the town or village corporation; and
D. If approved by a vote of the legislative body of the town or village corporation,
must continue to be provided until the legislative body votes to discontinue providing
year-round repairs and maintenance.
2. Required signage. A town or village corporation that votes to provide a minimum
level of year-round repairs and maintenance of a public easement pursuant to subsection 1
shall, at each intersection of such public easement with a public way or private road, install
and maintain a sign reasonably visible to drivers at the entrance to the public easement that
reads: "Minimum Maintenance Road - Travel at Your Own Risk." The sign required under
this subsection must conform to the requirements of the most recent Manual on Uniform
Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways published by the United States
Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, including, but not limited
to, the requirement that the sign be a minimum 24-inch-by-24-inch diamond shape with
black lettering at least 3 inches high on a yellow retroreflective background.
3. Liability. A town or village corporation that votes to provide a minimum level of
year-round repairs and maintenance of a public easement pursuant to subsection 1 is
immune from liability relating to that repairs and maintenance under the Maine Tort Claims
Act and under Title 23, chapter 313.
Sec. 3. 29-A MRSA §2395, sub-§4, as amended by PL 2017, c. 25, §1, is further
amended to read:
4. Designation by counties and municipalities. County commissioners and
municipal officers may designate public ways, other than those in subsection 3, and public
easements, regardless of whether the county or municipality maintains or repairs the public
easement, and impose restrictions within their respective jurisdictions similar to those made
by the Department of Transportation under subsection 3. Any vehicle delivering home
heating fuel or organic animal bedding material and operating in accordance with a permit
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issued by the Department of Transportation pursuant to this section may travel over any
county or town way or public easement without a specific municipal or county permit. A
municipality may impose additional restrictions for a vehicle delivering home heating fuel
or organic animal bedding material to operate on public ways and public easements within
that municipality but may not require a permit to operate according to those restrictions.
As used in this subsection, "public easement" has the same meaning as in Title 23, section
3021, subsection 2 and as described in Title 23, section 3022.
Sec. 4. Appropriations and allocations. The following appropriations and
allocations are made.
ATTORNEY GENERAL, DEPARTMENT OF THE
Road Commission Fund Z353
Initiative: Provides ongoing appropriations of $6,500 to the Road Commission Fund
program to provide expense reimbursement for members and to support the work of the
Maine Abandoned and Discontinued Roads Commission.
GENERAL FUND 2025-26 2026-27
All Other $6,500 $6,500
__________ __________
GENERAL FUND TOTAL $6,500 $6,500