An Act To Allow Properly Lifted Vehicles To Operate
Maine Legislature, Session 126, LD 0472
Committee: Transportation
Sponsors: GILLWAY
Amends: 29-A MRSA §1920

Legislative Document 
No. 472 
H.P. 322 
House of Representatives, February 14, 2013 
An Act To Allow Properly Lifted Vehicles To Operate 
Reference to the Committee on Transportation suggested and ordered printed. 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Presented by Representative GILLWAY of Searsport. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  29-A MRSA §1920, sub-§3, as amended by PL 2005, c. 276, §2, is 
further amended to read: 
3.  Suspension.  Except as provided in this subsection or in subsection 2 or 4, an 
original suspension system may not be disconnected.  This section does not prohibit the 
installation of heavy duty equipment, including shock absorbers and overload springs, or 
prohibit a person from operating on a public way a motor vehicle with normal wear of the 
suspension system if normal wear does not affect control of the vehicle. 
Sec. 2.  29-A MRSA §1920, sub-§§4 to 6 are enacted to read: 
4.  Suspension lifting.  The owner or operator of a motor vehicle that has been 
modified to lift the suspension to a height higher than the height at which the vehicle was 
originally manufactured shall acquire a suspension lift certificate and shall show the 
certificate to an inspection mechanic at the time of inspection. A vehicle may be modified 
to lift its suspension to a height higher than the height at which the vehicle was originally 
manufactured only by a person authorized by the Chief of the State Police pursuant to this 
subsection. 
The Chief of the State Police may authorize a person to modify a motor vehicle 
suspension and to determine compliance with this subsection. An authorized person who 
modifies a motor vehicle suspension under this subsection shall issue a suspension lift 
certificate to the owner or operator of the motor vehicle that certifies that the motor 
vehicle complies with the suspension lift standards under this section. 
Upon request, the Bureau of State Police shall provide suspension lift certificates to a 
person authorized to issue a certificate under this subsection. Suspension lift certificates 
provided by the Bureau of State Police in accordance with this subsection remain the 
property of the State. 
A person authorized to issue a suspension lift certificate under this subsection who is 
adjudicated of a violation of this section or files an answer of "not contested" to a 
summons for a violation of this section shall return all unissued suspension lift 
certificates to the Bureau of State Police within 10 days of adjudication or of filing the 
answer. The Bureau of State Police may not provide that person with suspension lift 
certificates for a period of 6 months after the date of adjudication or filing an answer of 
"not contested."  
If the operator of a motor vehicle with a suspension lifted higher than the height at which 
the vehicle was originally manufactured fails to produce a suspension lift certificate under 
this subsection on the request of a law enforcement officer, it is presumed that the motor 
vehicle does not meet the requirements of this section. 
5.  Violations.  A person may not: 
A.  Modify the suspension of a motor vehicle in violation of subsection 4; 
B.  Fail to issue a suspension lift certificate as required by subsection 4 after 
modifying a motor vehicle to lift the vehicle's suspension higher than the height at 
which the vehicle was originally manufactured; 
C.  Alter the height of a motor vehicle's suspension after a suspension lift certificate 
has been issued pursuant to subsection 4 and then display the certificate as proof that 
the suspension meets the standards of subsection 4; 
D.  Display or permit to be displayed a suspension lift certificate, knowing the 
certificate to be fictitious or issued to another motor vehicle or issued without the 
motor vehicle meeting the standards of subsection 4; 
E.  Knowingly cause a suspension lift certificate to be issued for a motor vehicle that 
does not meet the standards of subsection 4;  
F.  Operate or cause the operation of a motor vehicle that does not meet the 
requirements of this section; or 
G.  Fail to return all unissued suspension lift certificates to the Bureau of State Police 
in accordance with subsection 4. 
6.  Rules.  The Chief of the State Police may adopt rules to carry out the purposes of 
this section.  Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules 
pursuant to Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A. 
SUMMARY 
This bill allows a motor vehicle to have its suspension modified to be higher than the 
height at which the vehicle was originally manufactured if the modification is performed 
by a person authorized by the Chief of the State Police.  An authorized person who 
modifies a suspension to be higher than the height at which the motor vehicle was 
originally manufactured is required to issue a suspension lift certificate to the owner or 
operator of the vehicle, who is required to present the certificate to a mechanic 
performing an annual inspection of the vehicle.  If a person who owns or operates a motor 
vehicle that has a suspension at a height higher than the height at which the vehicle was 
originally manufactured fails to produce a suspension lift certificate on request of a law 
enforcement officer, it is presumed that the motor vehicle does not have a suspension lift 
certificate.