An Act To Amend the Law Pertaining to All-terrain Vehicle Violations
Maine Legislature, Session 122, LD 0940
Committee: Inland Fisheries and Wildlife
Sponsors: JOY, LINDELL, VAUGHAN
Amends: 12 MRSA §10902, 12 MRSA §13157-A

Legislative Document 
No. 940 
H.P.659 
House of Representatives, February 22,2005 
An Act To Amend the Law Pertaining to All-terrain Vehicle 
Violations 
Reference to the Committee on Inland Fisheries and Wildlife suggested and ordered 
printed. 
'/Jl~ 1/1. 7J?dC~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Presented by Representative JOY of Crystal. (BY REQUEST) 
Cosponsored by Representatives: LINDELL of Frankfort, VAUGHAN of Durham. 
Printt:d on rt'l.:ydt'J papt.o. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 12 MRSA §10902, sub-§9. as corrected by RR 2003, c. 2, 
§19, is amended to read: 
9. 
Suspension for certain ATV violations; training. 
The 
commissioner 
sRa**-~-a~~-~i€e~£e£-~-peFmi~s may suspend 
all licenses, permits and registrations issued by the department 
pursuant to this Part 
aBQ--may--£~£pe~e.--aa-Y"--£'~-£-t.-i---a-t.-i~-iss\,leQ 
p\,lFS\,laB~--t-O--S\,lBpaF~--6--e~--t-h:i-s--PaF~ to any person convicted or 
adjudicated of: 
A. 
Operating 
an 
ATV 
on 
a 
temporarily 
closed trail 
as 
prohibited under section 13157, subsection 5-A; 
B. 
Abuse of another person's property as prohibited under 
section 13157, subsection 22; 
C. Operating an ATV under the influence under 21 years of 
age, 
as 
prohibited under 
section 10701, 
subsection 
I-A, 
paragraph D, subparagraph (3); 
D. Operating an ATV to endanger, as prohibited under section 
13157, subsection 11; 
E. Reckless operation of an ATV, as prohibited under section 
13157, sUbsection 10; or 
~T--Qpe~~~i~~--~-~~~--eB--£Re--~~~-~---a~~~~--wi~Re\,lE 
peFmissieBT-~-~~~~~-\,lBQeF-~~-~~~~~--S\,lBSee~ieB 
;b-AI--eF 
G. 
Failure or refusal to stop an ATV or attempting to elude 
an officer, as prohibited under section 10651, subsection 1, 
paragraphs D and E. 
The 
commissioner 
shall 
reinstate 
licenses, 
permits 
and 
registrations 
that 
have 
been 
suspended 
pursuant 
to 
this 
subsection 
only 
if 
the 
person 
satisfactorily 
completes, 
in 
accordance with procedures established by the commissioner 
by 
rule, a training program approved by the department relating to 
safety and ethics in the operation of ATVs. 
The costs of this 
training 
program 
are 
borne 
by 
the 
person 
undertaking 
the 
training. 
The 
commissioner 
shall 
establish 
by 
rule 
the 
procedures for completion of mandatory training pursuant to this 
subsection. 
A person who 
satisfactorily completes 
a 
training 
program approved by the department pursuant to this subsection is 
deemed 
to 
have 
satisfied the 
outdoor ethics training course 
requirements 
established 
under 
section 
10903. 
Rules 
adopted 
,.. 
" 
pursuant 
to 
this 
subsection 
are 
routine 
technical 
rules 
as 
defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A. 
Sec. 2. 12 MRS A §13157, sub-§I-A, as repealed by PL 2003, c. 
655, Pt. B, §4l3 and affected by §422 and enacted by c. 695, Pt. 
B, §16 and affected by Pt. C, §l, is repealed. 
Sec. 3. 12 MRSA §13157-A. sub-§l. as enacted by PL 2003, c. 
655, 
Pt. 
B, 
§4l4 
and affected by §422, 
is repealed and the 
following enacted in its place: 
1. 
Permission required. 
A person may not operate an ATV on 
the land of another without the permission of the landowner or 
lessee. 
Written 
permission 
of 
the 
landowner 
or 
lessee 
i~ 
required on cropland or pastureland or in an orchard. 
As used In 
this subsection, 
"cropland" means acreage in tillage rotation, 
land being cropped and land in bush fruits, 
and "pastureland" 
means acreage devoted to the production of forage plants used for 
animal 
production. 
Landowner 
permission is 
presumed 
on 
ATV 
trails that are conspicuously posted or in areas open to ATVs by 
landowner policy. 
A. 
A person 
wh~L_-"y~j.olat_es this s_ubsection commits a civil 
violation for which a fine of not less than $100 nor more 
~n $500 may be adjudged. 
B. 
A person who 
vj.olQ1;.~~tAi~);>_section after havin~en 
adjudicated of having committed 3 or more civil violations 
under this Part within the previous 5-year period commits a 
Class E crime. 
SUMMARY 
This bill makes the following changes to the laws governing 
all-terrain vehicle, ATV, violations. 
1. 
Under current law, the Commissioner of Inland fisheries 
and Wildlife is required to suspend licenses and permits of a 
person convicted of certain ATV violations. 
This bill eliminates 
the requirement of suspension and instead allows the commissioner 
to suspend the licenses and permits of such a person. 
2. 
It eliminates operating an ATV on the land of another 
without 
permission 
as 
one 
of 
the 
ATV 
violations 
warranting 
suspension of licenses, permits and registrations. 
3. 
It restructures language regarding the presumption of 
permission for the operation of ATVs on private land.