An Act To Require Bicyclists To Contribute to the Improvement of Bikeways
Maine Legislature, Session 125, LD 1189
Committee: Transportation
Sponsors: SARTY, COLLINS, BRYANT, CEBRA, COTTA, DAVIS, JOHNSON, PLUMMER, SHAW
Amends: 23 MRSA §613

Legislative Document 
No. 1189 
H.P. 880 
House of Representatives, March 21, 2011 
An Act To Require Bicyclists To Contribute to the Improvement of 
Bikeways 
Reference to the Committee on Transportation suggested and ordered printed. 
HEATHER J.R. PRIEST 
Clerk 
Presented by Representative SARTY of Denmark. 
Cosponsored by Senator COLLINS of York and 
Representatives: BRYANT of Windham, CEBRA of Naples, COTTA of China, DAVIS of 
Sangerville, JOHNSON of Greenville, PLUMMER of Windham, SHAW of Standish. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  23 MRSA §613 is enacted to read: 
§613.  Bikeway construction surcharge; fund 
1.  Fund established.  The Bikeway Construction Fund, referred to in this section as 
"the fund," is established within the Department of Transportation to be used by the 
department to provide funding for the construction and maintenance of bikeways.  For 
purposes of this section, "bikeway" means a bikeway for use primarily by bicyclists and 
pedestrians. 
2.  Bikeway construction surcharge.  In addition to the tax imposed on the sale of a 
bicycle pursuant to Title 36, section 1811, there is imposed a surcharge of 2% on the 
value of any bicycle sold at retail in this State. 
3.  Funding; administration.  All surcharges collected under subsection 2 must be 
credited to the fund.  The surcharge must be collected at the time of the sale of the bicycle 
and remitted to the State Tax Assessor in the same manner as the sales tax.  The State Tax 
Assessor shall forward any amount collected pursuant to subsection 2 to the Department 
of Transportation, less the cost of administering the surcharge, which may not exceed 
10% of the amount collected. 
4.  Budget.  The expenditures from the fund are subject to legislative approval in the 
same manner as the Highway Fund budgets of the Department of Transportation. 
5.  Use of fund.  The fund must be used by the Department of Transportation to 
construct, improve and maintain bikeways in this State.  Any amount in the fund that is 
not expended at the end of a fiscal year does not lapse but must be carried forward. 
Sec. 2.  Rulemaking.  The State Tax Assessor shall adopt routine technical rules 
pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A to 
implement the provisions regarding the imposition and collection of the surcharge 
imposed pursuant to Title 23, section 613, subsection 2, including revising the sales tax 
return to allow for a retailer to indicate what portion of the return is attributable to the 
surcharge imposed pursuant to Title 23, section 613, subsection 2. 
Sec. 3.  Effective date.  This Act applies to retail sales of bicycles occurring on or 
after October 1, 2011. 
SUMMARY 
This bill imposes a 2% surcharge on the retail sale of bicycles.  The proceeds are to 
be used by the Department of Transportation to construct, improve and maintain 
bikeways for use primarily by bicyclists and pedestrians.