An Act To Implement the Recommendations from the Discontinued and Abandoned Roads Stakeholder Group
Maine Legislature, Session 126, LD 1177
Committee Amendment CA_A-HA_B_H759 (House)
Amends: 17 MRSA §3853-E

HOUSE AMENDMENT "/3,, to COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to S.P. 414, 
L.D. 1177, Bill, "An Act To Implement the Recommendations from the Discontinued and 
Abandoned Roads Stakeholder Group" 
Amend the amendment by striking out all of the first and 2nd paragraphs after the 
title (page 1, lines 12 to 18 in amendment) 
Amend the amendment by inserting before section 1 the following: 
'Sec. 1. 17 MRSA §3853-E is enacted to read: 
§3853-E. Damage to public easement; discontinued or abandoned road 
1. Definitions. 
For the purposes of this section, the following terms have the 
following meanings. 
A. "Damage to a road" means damage to a road in a way that impedes reasonable 
access by motor vehicle to a property owner's property abutting the road. 
B. "Motor vehicle" has the same meaning as in Title 29-A, section 101, subsection 
42. 
2. 
Damage to roads. 
A person who causes damage to a road that has been 
discontinued or abandoned pursuant to Title 23, chapter 304 but in which a public 
easement exists commits a Class E crime. 
3. Application. This section does not apply to: 
A. A landowner operating a motor vehicle on land owned by that landowner; 
B. A person given permission by a landowner to operate a motor vehicle on land 
owned by that landowner; or 
C. A law enforcement officer who, in an emergency and in the scope of that law 
enforcement officer's employment, operates a motor vehicle on land owned by 
another.' 
Amend the amendment by striking out all of section 5 and inserting the following: 
'Sec. 5. 23 MRSA §§3026-A and 3026-B are enacted to read: 
HOUSE AMENDMENT 
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HOUSE AMENDMENT '13 " 
to COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to S.P. 414, L.D. 1177 
§3026-A. Discontinuance of town ways 
A municipality may terminate in whole or in part any interests held by it for highway 
purposes. A municipality discontinuing a town way or public easement in this State must 
meet the following requirements. 
1. Notification of discontinuance to abutting property owners and municipal 
planning board. The municipal officers shall give best practicable notice to all abutting 
property owners and the municipal planning board or office of a proposed discontinuance 
of a town way or public easement. As used in this subsection, "best practicable notice" 
means, at minimum, the mailing by the United States Postal Service, postage prepaid, 
first class, of notice to abutting property owners whose addresses appear in the 
assessment records of the municipality. 
2. Municipal officers meet to discuss proposed discontinuance and file order of 
discontinuance. The municipal officers shall discuss a proposed discontinuance of a 
town way or public easement at a public meeting and file an order of discontinuance with 
the municipal clerk that specifies: 
A. The location of the town way or public easement; 
B. The names of abutting property owners; 
C. The amount of damages, if any, determined by the municipal officers to be paid to 
each abutter; 
D. For a town way, whether or not a public easement will be retained. If the existing 
legal rights of abutting property owners to access their property in the same manner 
as prior to discontinuance will be eliminated, a public easement must be retained; and 
E. If a public easement is to be retained: 
(1) The extent of municipal maintenance and liability responsibilities. if any: and 
(2) The restrictions on how the public may use the public easement, if any. 
3. Public hearing. The municipal officers shall hold a public hearing on the order of 
discontinuance of a town way or public easement filed pursuant to subsection 2. 
4. 
Approval of order of discontinuance and damage awards. 
Ten or more 
business days after the public hearing pursuant to subsection 3, the municipal legislative 
body must vote upon the order of discontinuance submitted to it: 
A. To approve the order of discontinuance, including the public easement and the 
restrictions set in the order and the damage awards, and to appropriate the money to 
pay the damages; or 
B. To disapprove the order of discontinuance. 
5. Continuation of utility easement; other interests. An easement for public 
utility facilities necessary to provide or maintain service remains in a discontinued town 
way regardless of whether a public easement is retained. Upon approval by a municipal 
legislative body of an order to discontinue a town way and retain a public easement, 
unless otherwise stated in the order, all remaining interests ofthe municipality pass to the 
abutting property owners in fee simple to the center of the way. 
HOUSE AMENDMENT 
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HOUSE AMENDMENT '13" to COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to S.P. 414, L.D. 1177 
§3026-B. Public easements over discontinued or abandoned town ways 
Notwithstanding section 3028, subsection 2, if a public easement is in a discontinued 
or abandoned town way and the public easement has not been discontinued as of January 
1, 2016 as evidenced by approval of an order of discontinuance, the public easement is 
deemed to have been retained by the municipality. This section does not apply to a 
public easement that is discontinued pursuant to section 3026-A.' 
Amend the amendment by striking out all of sections 7 to 9. 
Amend the amendment by striking out all of section 12. 
Amend the amendment by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter 
or section number to read consecutively. 
SUMMARY 
This amendment amends Committee Amendment "A" in the following manner: 
I. It removes the mandate preamble; 
2. It removes the requirement that the clerk of a municipality file a record of a 
certificate of discontinuance with the registry of deeds, the Department of Transportation 
and the municipality; 
3. It removes the requirement that a municipality, 21 years after a certificate of 
discontinuance has been filed, reconsider and vote on the discontinuance; 
4. It removes the requirement that those town ways that have not met the statutory 
presumption of abandonment by January 1, 2015 may only be discontinued by complying 
with the new discontinuance process proposed in the committee amendment. It also 
removes the requirement that the clerk of a municipality that determines that a town way 
has been determined abandoned under the old process file notice of that determination 
with the registry of deeds, the Department of Transportation and the municipality; 
5. It removes the requirement that a municipality develop lists of all town ways that 
are currently maintained with public funds and that have been discontinued and 
abandoned since 1965, publish the lists and record the lists at the appropriate county 
registry of deeds and the Department of Transportation; 
6. It provides that a public easement in a discontinued or abandoned road has been 
retained if, as of January 1, 2016, there is no evidence of approval of an order of 
discontinuance by the municipal legislative body; 
7. It provides that a person who causes damage to a discontinued or abandoned road 
in which a public easement exists commits a Class E crime; and 
HOUSE AMENDMENT 
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HOUSE AMENDMENT "~,, to COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to S.P. 414, L.D. 1177 
8. 
It clarifies the provIsion in the committee amendment that requires a public 
easement to be retained if the existing legal rights of abutting property owners to access 
their property will be eliminated. It provides that the access to the property must be in the 
same manner as prior to the discontinuance. 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
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attached) 
SPONSOREDBY:~-­
(Representative COTTA) 
TOWN: China 
HOUSE AMENDMENT 
Revised: 03127114 
~ac 
LD 1177 
LR 1124(09) 
An Act To Implement the Recommendations from the Discontinued and Abandoned Roads 
Stakeholder Group 
Fiscal Note for House Amendment If:; to Committee Amendment" A" 
Sponsor: Rep. Cotta of China 
Correctional and Judicial Impact Statements 
Establishes new Class E crimes. 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
Mandate Eliminated 
The collection of additional fines may also increase General Fund revenue by minor amounts. 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
This amendment removes the mandate preamble in the committee amendment. Removing a number of municipal 
activities identified in the committee amendment as mandated activities and making others optional eliminates the 
need for the mandate preamble. Any minor costs to the Department of Transportation for processing documents filed 
with it by the municipalities are reduced even further because the filings are now optional. 
LRI124(09) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1