An Act To Amend Maine's Abandoned Vehicle Laws
Maine Legislature, Session 123, LD 0666
Committee Amendment CA_A_H165 (House)
Amends: 29-A MRSA §1857, 29-A MRSA §1858, 29-A MRSA §1861

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A " to H.P. 515, L.D. 666, Bill, "An Act To 
Amend Maine's Abandoned Vehicle Laws" 
Amend the bill in section 2 by striking out all of the last sentence (page I lines 13 to 
in L.D.) and inserting the following: 'There is a rebuttable presumption that the last 
owner of record of a motor vehicle found abandoned as shown in the files of the office of 
the Secretary of State is the owner of the motor vehicle at the time it was abandoned and 
the person who abandoned it.' 
Amend the bill in section 6 in subsection 1 in the 4th line (page 2, line 6 in L.D.) by 
striking out the following: "Jj" and inserting the following: '21' 
Amend the bill by striking out all of section 7 (page 2, lines 9 to 13 in L.D.) and 
inserting the following: 
'Sec. 7. 29-A MRSA §1857, as amended by PL 1999, c. 137, §3, is further 
amended to read: 
§1857. Limits 
If the notification to the Secretary of State required by section 1854 is made more 
than J.() 1 days after receipt of a vehicle described in section 1851, the person holding the 
vehicle may not collect more than ~ 1 days of storage fees. Daily storage charges must 
be 
reasonable 
and 
total 
storage 
charges 
may 
not 
exceed 
$eOO 
$900 for a 30-day period.' 
Amend the bill by striking out all of sections 8, 9, 10 and 11 and inserting the 
following: 
'Sec. 8. 29-A MRSA §1858, as amended by PL 1995, c. 65, Pt. A, §103 and 
affected by § 153 and Pt. C, § 15, is further amended to read: 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
,'Ii, 
t--." 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to H.P. 515, L.D. 666 
§1858. Abandonment of vehicle on public way 
Abandonment of a vehicle on a public way is a traffic infraction for which a fine of 
not less than $250 must be assessed. A person who is found to have abandoned a vehicle 
under this section is responsible for any towing or other charges that are directly related 
to the abandonment of the vehicle. 
Sec. 9. 29-A MRSA §1861 is enacted to read: 
§1861. Holding vehicle and its accessories 
A person holding or storing an abandoned vehicle, holding or storing a vehicle towed 
at the request of the vehicle's operator, owner or owner's agent or holding or storing a 
vehicle stored at the request of a law enforcement officer may hold the vehicle and all its 
accessories, contents and equipment, not including the personal effects of the registered 
owner, until reasonable towing and storage charges of the person holding or storing the 
vehicle are paid. 
For purposes of this section, "personal effects" includes medications, medical 
equipment, clothing, mail, child safety seats and similar items. Except for child safety 
seats, items attached to the vehicle and business equipment, machinery and tools are not 
considered personal effects. ' 
SUMMARY 
This amendment makes the following changes to the bill. 
1. It amends a portion of the bill that deems the last owner of record of a motor 
vehicle found abandoned to be the owner of the motor vehicle at the time it was 
abandoned and to be the person who abandoned it. The amendment provides that there is 
a rebuttable presumption that the last owner of record of a motor vehicle found 
abandoned is the owner of the motor vehicle at the time it was abandoned and the person 
who abandoned it. 
It amends the portion of the bill that would reduce the minimum period after the 
Secretary of State receives notice of an abandoned vehicle that the Secretary of State 
must wait before issuing a letter of ownership or certificate of title to the person holding 
the abandoned vehicle. In current law the minimum period is 30 days. The bill proposed 
to reduce this to 15 days. The amendment makes the minimum period 21 days. 
3. It replaces a section of the bill that would have removed current limits on the fees 
a person holding an abandoned vehicle may charge for storing the vehicle. 
The 
amendment preserves that provision of law, but amends it to provide that total storage 
charges may not exceed $900 for a 30-day period. It also amends the provision to 
provide that if the person holding the vehicle fails to notify the Secretary of State within 7 
days of coming into possession of the vehicle, the person may only charge 7 days of 
storage fees. Under current law, the period is 30 days. 
4. 
It adds a provision to the bill that establishes a minimum fine of $250 for 
abandoning a vehicle on a public way. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT ·A" to H.P. 515, L.D. 666 
5. It amends a provision of the bill that allows a person storing an abandoned vehicle 
to hold the vehicle until all fees are paid. The amendment provides that the person may 
hold the vehicle until all reasonable towing and storage fees are paid. 
6. It removes the portions of the bill that provide for the suspension of an owner's 
driver's license and registration privileges for failure to pay towing and storage fees and 
the collection of an impoundment fee for storing vehicles used in the commission of a 
cnme. 
FISCAL :\OTE REQL"IRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Completed: 04/25/07 
LD666 
LR 811(02) 
An Act To Amend Maine's Abandoned Vehicle Laws 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment ,A " 
Committee: Transportation 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
Minor cost increase - Highway Fund 
Minor revenue increase - Highway Fund 
LR0811(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1