An Act To Strengthen the A TV Laws of the State
Maine Legislature, Session 121, LD 0474
Committee: Inland Fisheries and Wildlife
Sponsors: HALL, DAIGLE, DUNLAP, SNOWE-MELLO
Amends: 12 MRSA §7854, 12 MRSA §7856, 12 MRSA §7857, 12 MRSA §7901

Legislative Document 
No. 474 
H.P.366 
House of Representatives, February 4,2003 
An Act To Strengthen the A TV Laws of the State 
Reference to the Committee on Inland Fisheries and Wildlife suggested and ordered 
printed. 
Presented by Representati ve TRAHAN of Waldoboro. 
Cosponsored by Senator HALL of Lincoln and 
71/~1J7.~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Representatives: DAIGLE of Arundel, DUNLAP of Old Town, SNOWE-MELLO of Poland, 
Senator: SA V AGE of Knox. 
Printed on recyc led paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 12 MRSA §7854, sub-§3, as amended by PL 200L c. 690, 
Pt. A, §13 and affected by §18, is further amended to read: 
3. 
Fee. 
The annual registration fee for an ATV is $11-feF 
a-te6~aeB~-aBa-$~9-~et-a-BeBte6~aeB~ ~. 
Sec. 2. 12 MRS A §7854. sub-§4. lIA. as amended by PL 200L c. 
690, Pt. A, §14 and affected by §18, is further amended to read: 
A. 
A~~et 
Except 
as 
provided 
in 
paragraph 
C, 
aftel-
administrative 
costs, 
revenues 
received 
under 
this 
subchapter 
are 
credited 
as 
undedicated 
revenue 
to 
the 
General Fund except that 50°" of those revenues is credited 
to the ATV Recreational Management Fund of the Department of 
Conservation. 
The 
Legislature 
shall 
appropriate 
to 
the 
department 
in each fiscal 
year 
an 
amount 
equal 
to 
the 
administrative 
costs 
incurred 
by 
the 
department 
in 
collecting 
revenue 
under 
this 
subsection. 
Those 
administrative costs must be verified by the Department of 
Conservation 
and 
the 
Department 
of 
Administrative 
and 
Financial Services. 
The department shall use a portion of the revenue dedicated 
to the 
ATV 
Recreational Management 
Fund for 
an 
ATV 
law 
enforcement grant-in-aid program to assist law enforcement 
agencies other than the Bureau of Warden Service. 
Sec.3. 12 MRSA §7854, sub-§4, 1l1lC and D are enacted to read: 
C. Thirty-three dollars of each ATV registration must be 
credited to the ATV Enforcement and Safety Education Fund of 
the department. 
D. 
The ATV Enforcement and Safety Education Fund, referred 
to in this paragraph as 
"the fund," 
is established and 
administered by the department. 
(1) The fund may be used to enhance the enforcement of 
ATV laws and to promote education about ATV safety. 
(2) 
If any money in the fund is not expended during 
the year in which it is collected, 
the 
unexpended 
balance may not lapse but must be carried forward. 
Sec. 4. 12 MRSA §7854. sub-§5, as enacted by PL 1983, c. 297, 
§§l and 3, is amended to read: 
Page l-LR0937(l) 
,. 
2B 
.. 
5. 
Form of registration. 
The ATV registration sHaLl, must 
be 
in 
such 
form 
as 
the 
commissioner 
may 
determine. 
The 
commissioner shall ensure that the registration plate is large 
enough and displayed in a manner to ensure that the registration 
number can be easily read. 
Sec. 5. 12 MRSA §7854, sub-§9. as enacted by PL 1983, c. 297, 
§§1 and 3, is repealed. 
Sec. 6. 12 MRSA §7856, sub-§I-A is enacted to read: 
I-A. 
Written permission required. 
A person may not operate 
on 
the 
land 
of 
another 
person 
without 
the 
prior 
written 
permission 
of 
that 
landowner. 
A 
person 
who 
violates 
this 
subsection commits a Class E crime. 
Sec. 7. 12 MRSA §7857. sub-§4. as enacted by PL 1983, c. 297, 
§§1 and 3, is repealed. 
Sec. 8. 12 MRSA §7857, sub-§23, as enacted by PL 1983, c. 297, 
§§l and 3, is repealed. 
Sec. 9. 12 MRSA §7857. sub-§23-A is enacted to read: 
23-A. 
Property damage. 
An ATV operator who causes 
damag~ 
to the land or property of another person is liable to that land 
or property owner for treble damaaes. 
Sec. 10. 12 MRSA §7901~A. sub-§12, 1[c. as enacted by PL 200L 
c. 421, Pt. B, §88 and affected by Pt. C, §l, is amended to read: 
C. 
Chapter 715, subchapter IV ~ violations: 
(1) 
Operating 
an unregistered 
ATV 
as 
described in 
section 7857, subsection 1; 
(2) 
Failure to display 
ATV 
registration numbers 
as 
described in section 7857, subsection I-A; 
(3) 
Operating an ATV upon a controlled access highway 
as described in section 7857, subsection 2; 
(4) 
Unlawfully operatino an ATV on a snowmobile trail 
as described in section 7857, subsection 3; 
~§+--~~~H~Y-~~~H~-aH-~~-~-a-~~~~~-~-a6 
aese~ibea-iH-see~ieH-+ge+T-sBbsee~ieH-4T 
(6) 
Operating an ATV on a public way as described III 
section 7857, subsection 5; 
(7) 
Failure to stop an ATV before entering a public 
way as described in section 7857, subsection 6; 
(8) 
Failure to yield the right-of-way while operating 
an ATV as described in section 7857, subsection 7; 
(9) 
Crossing 
underpass with 
subsection 8; 
a 
closed 
an ATV 
bridge, culvert, 
as described in 
overpass or 
section 7857, 
(10) 
Operating an ATV while under age as described lD 
section 7857, subsection 13; 
(11) 
Operating an ATV without certificate of training 
as described in section 7857, subsection 13-A; 
(12) 
Operating an ATV without protective headgear as 
described in section 7857, subsection 13-B; 
(13) Carrying a passenger on an ATV without headgear as 
described in section 7857, subsection 13-C; 
(14) 
Permitting an unaccompanied child to operate an 
ATV as described in section 7B57, subsection 14; 
(15) 
Permitting 
operate an ATV as 
14-A; 
a 
child under 
years of 
age 
to 
described in section 7857, subsectioll 
(16) 
Operating an ATV without a muffler as described 
in section 7857, subsection 15; 
(17) 
Operating 
an 
ATV 
with insufficient lights 
as 
described in section 7857, subsection 16; 
(18) 
Failure to use ATV lights as described ln section 
7857, sUbsection 17; 
(19) 
Unlawfully operating an ATV on railroad tracks as 
described in section 7857, subsection 18; 
(20) 
Operating an ATV too close to certain building~' 
as described in section 7857, subsection 20; 
(21) 
Unlawfully 
permitting 
operation 
of 
ATV 
as 
described in section 7857, subsection 21; 
(22) 
Failure to report an ATV accident as described In 
section 7857, subsection 22; 
(23) 
Operating 
an 
ATV 
in 
a 
prohibited 
area 
as 
described in section 7857, subsection 22-A; and 
f 6 4} - - ~-a-t-:i..-ng- - aH - -A-TJJ- -9 H - -o-r-op-1-and- - 9 F - -patrt~~l-and- - a 6 
ae6eFiBea-iH-6eeEi9H-1g§1T-6HB6eeEi9H-6~T-aHa 
(25) 
Selling an ATV without lights as described III 
section 7857, subsection 25. 
SUMMARY 
This bill raises ATV registration fees to $50 and dedicates 
the increase to ATV enforcement and safety education. The bill 
requires 
the 
Department 
of 
Inland Fisheries 
and Wildlife 
to 
ensure that registration plates are displayed in a manner that 
will allow for easy identification of registration numbers and 
repeals the 
ATV 
registration reciprocity law. 
The bill also 
requires ATV operators to get prior written permission to operate 
an ATV on the land of another and provides treble damages to a 
land or property owner whose property is damaged by use of an ATV.