An Act To Implement the Recommendations from the Discontinued and Abandoned Roads Stakeholder Group
Maine Legislature, Session 126, LD 1177
Committee Amendment CA_A-SA_B_S488 (Senate)

SENATE AMENDMENT "E) "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 section 5 and inserting the following: 
'Sec. 5. 23 MRS A §3026-A is enacted to read: 
§3026-A. Discontinuance of town ways 
A municipality may tenninate in whole or in pati 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 me 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 propeliy 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 will be eliminated, a 
public easement must be retained; and 
E. If a public easement is to be retained: 
SENA TE AMENDMENT 
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SENATE AMENDMENT" 6"to COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to S.P. 414, LD. 1177 
(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. Within the time 
frames provided in subsection 5, 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. Time frames for vote. In the case of a municipality with a city or town council, 
the municipal legislative body must vote upon the order of discontinuance in accordance 
with subsection 4 not less than 10 but not more than 60 business days after the public 
hearing. In the case of a municipality without such a council, the municipal legislative 
body must vote upon the order of discontinuance at the next scheduled town meeting. 
6. Certificate of discontinuance filed. The municipal clerk shall record an attested 
certificate of discontinuance within 10 days after a vote by the municipal legislative body 
under subsection 4 in the registry of deeds, with the Department of Transportation and 
with the municipality. The certificate must describe the town way or public easement and 
the final action by the municipal legislative body. 
The date the certificate of 
discontinuance is filed is the date the town way or public easement is discontinued. The 
registry of deeds shall record a certificate of discontinuance under the name of the town 
way or public easement, the name of the municipality and the names of the abutters. 
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 of 
the municipality pass to the abutting property owners in fee simple to the center of the 
way.' 
Amend the amendment by striking out all of section 12 and inserting the following: 
'Sec. 12. Municipalities to develop list of town ways. By January 1,2016, a 
municipality shall prepare a list of all town ways in that municipality that are currently 
maintained with public funds; a list of all town ways that have been discontinued since 
1965 and whether or not a public easement was retained, if such information can be 
provided without research; and a list of all town ways that have been abandoned since 
1965 and whether or not a public easement was retained, if such information can be 
provided without research. A municipality shall publish the lists on its publicly accessible 
website or make copies available at the municipal office. A municipality shall record the 
lists at the appropriate county registry of deeds and with the Department of 
Transportation. The registry of deeds shall record these lists under the name of the 
SENATE AMENDMENT 
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SENATE AMENDMENT" B "to COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to S.P. 414, LD. 1177 
municipality. The Department of Transportation may provide a municipality a list of that 
municipality's state and state aid highways and individual town ways.' 
SUMMARY 
This amendment amends Committee Amendment "A" in the following manner: 
1. It amends the time frames in which a municipal legislative body must vote on an 
order of discontinuance based on the type of municipal legislative body; 
2. It adds a time limit to the requirement that the municipal clerk record a certificate 
of discontinuance; 
3. It removes the requirement that a municipality, 21 years after a certificate of 
discontinuance has been filed, reconsider and vote on the discontinuance; and 
4. It changes the requirement that a municipality develop lists of all town ways that 
have been discontinued or abandoned since 1965 if known to a requirement that a 
municipality develop those lists if the information can be provided without research. 
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SPONSORED BY: ~h.P-.c '111-~ 
(Senator LACHO 
CZ) 
COUNTY: Kennebec 
FTSC\r, "fin: REQURED 
(~l'l' illtllched) 
SENATE AMENDMENT 
Approved: 04/01/14 
~ac.. 
LD 1177 
LR 1124(11) 
An Act To Implement the Recommendations from the Discontinued and Abandoned Roads 
Stakeholder Group 
Fiscal Note for Senate Amendment "g' to Committee Amendment "A" 
Sponsor: Sen. Lachowicz of Kennebec 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
Changes to Municipal Requirements 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
Compared to the committee amendment, the net effect of these changes on municipalities is a reduction of required 
activity and cost. 
LRlI24(1J) - Fiscal Note - Page I of 1 
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