An Act To Assist Maine Citizens Residing along Public Easements
Maine Legislature, Session 127, LD 1637
Committee: State and Local Government
Sponsors: HILLIARD, SAVIELLO
Amends: 23 MRSA §3026, 23 MRSA §3202

Legislative Document 
No. 1637 
H.P. 1114 
House of Representatives, March 8, 2016 
An Act To Assist Maine Citizens Residing along Public Easements 
Reference to the Committee on State and Local Government suggested and ordered printed. 
ROBERT B. HUNT 
Clerk 
Presented by Representative HILLIARD of Belgrade.  (GOVERNOR'S BILL) 
Cosponsored by Senator SAVIELLO of Franklin. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  23 MRSA §3026, sub-§1, as enacted by PL 1981, c. 683, §1, is amended 
to read: 
1.  General procedures; maintenance of public easement.  A municipality may 
terminate in whole or in part any interests held by it for highway purposes.  A 
municipality may discontinue a town way or public easement after the municipal officers 
have given best practicable notice to all abutting property owners and the municipal 
planning board or office and have filed an order of discontinuance with the municipal 
clerk that specifies the location of the way, the names of abutting property owners and the 
amount of damages, if any, determined by the municipal officers to be paid to each 
abutter.  
Upon approval of the discontinuance order by the legislative body, and unless otherwise 
stated in the order, a public easement shall, in the case of town ways, must be retained 
and all remaining interests of the municipality shall pass to the abutting property owners 
to the center of the way. If a public easement is retained and, at the time of approval of 
the discontinuance order, there are legal residences on the property abutting that public 
easement, the municipality, at the expense of that municipality, shall keep that public 
easement reasonably passable for the use of motor vehicles for the purpose of access to 
the residences abutting that public easement. If a public easement is not retained, all 
interests of the municipality pass to the abutting property owners to the center of the way 
and the municipality is not responsible for maintenance of that discontinued town way. 
For purposes of this section, the words "public easement" shall include, without 
limitation, an easement for public utility facilities necessary to provide service.  
Sec. 2.  23 MRSA §3202 is repealed and the following enacted in its place: 
§3202.  Mail routes 
If a municipality holds a right-of-way over which there is a mail route, it is the 
responsibility of that municipality to keep the mail route to the standard required by 
United States Postal Service regulations. 
SUMMARY 
This bill requires a municipality that discontinues a town way but that retains a public 
easement on that town way to continue to maintain that public easement, at the expense 
of the municipality, so that it is reasonably passable by motor vehicles if there are legal 
residences on the property abutting the town way at the time of discontinuance.  If a 
municipality discontinues a town way and specifically discontinues the public easement 
on that town way, the interests of the municipality pass to the abutting property owners to 
the center of the town way and the municipality is not required to keep the town way 
passable. As defined in current law, a town way includes a county way not discontinued 
prior to July 29, 1976. 
This bill also requires a municipality to maintain a mail route located on a right-of-
way held by the municipality to the standard required by United States Postal Service 
regulations.