An Act To Suspend the Right of an Out-of-state Toll Violator To Operate a Motor Vehicle on Maine Roads
Maine Legislature, Session 127, LD 0987
Committee: Transportation
Sponsors: McLEAN, COLLINS
Amends: 23 MRSA §1980, 29-A MRSA §154, 29-A MRSA §2069

Legislative Document 
No. 987 
H.P. 682 
House of Representatives, March 18, 2015 
An Act To Suspend the Right of an Out-of-state Toll Violator To 
Operate a Motor Vehicle on Maine Roads 
Reference to the Committee on Transportation suggested and ordered printed. 
ROBERT B. HUNT 
Clerk 
Presented by Representative McLEAN of Gorham. 
Cosponsored by Senator COLLINS of York. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  23 MRSA §1980, sub-§2-A, ¶C, as amended by PL 2011, c. 476, §5, is 
further amended to read: 
C.  The following procedures must be followed for the collection of tolls, 
administrative fees and civil penalties under this subsection. 
(1)  The authority shall send a notice of liability by first class mail to a person 
alleged to be liable as a registered owner under this subsection.  The notice must 
be sent to the address of the registered owner on record with the authority if the 
registered owner is an electronic toll collection patron of the authority or, if no 
such record exists, the address of the registered owner on record with the 
Secretary of State.  If the motor vehicle is registered in another jurisdiction and 
the registered owner's address is not known by the authority, the notice may be 
sent to the motor vehicle registry of the jurisdiction that issued the registration.  
A written statement by the authority that the notice of liability has been mailed is 
prima facie evidence of the mailing of the notice. 
(2)  A notice of liability must include the name and address of the person alleged 
to be liable as a registered owner for the failure to pay a toll under this 
subsection, the amount of the unpaid toll not paid, the registration number of the 
vehicle involved, the toll collection facility at which the failure to pay occurred 
and the date and the approximate time of the failure.  The notice must also 
include the name, address and telephone number of the violation clerk 
responsible for enforcing the penalty for the failure to pay. 
(3)  A notice of liability must include information advising the person liable 
under this subsection of the manner and time in which state how the alleged 
liability alleged in the notice may be contested and must identify the statutory 
defenses described in paragraph E.  The notice must also include a warning that 
failure to contest in the manner and time provided is an admission of liability and 
a waiver of available defenses and that failure to pay or respond may result in 
revocation of the registration certificate and plates issued for the a motor vehicle 
registered in the State or suspension of the right to operate the motor vehicle in 
this State if it is registered in another jurisdiction. 
(4)  Within 30 calendar days after the date of the issuance of the notice of 
liability, the registered owner to whom the notice is issued must shall: 
(a)  Pay the amount of the toll for which the person is liable, the civil penalty 
or penalties provided for in paragraph A and an administrative fee of $20 for 
each unpaid toll for which the person is liable but has not paid; 
(b)  Send a written dispute by mail to the violation clerk named in the notice, 
as provided by paragraph I; or 
(c)  Request a hearing with the violation clerk named in the notice as 
provided by paragraph J. 
Sec. 2.  23 MRSA §1980, sub-§2-A, ¶G, as amended by PL 2011, c. 476, §6, is 
further amended to read: 
G.  The authority shall notify the Secretary of State, who shall, in accordance with 
Title 29-A, section 154, subsection 6, suspend the registration certificate and plates 
issued for the vehicle involved in the alleged failure to pay if that vehicle is registered 
in this State or, if that vehicle is registered in another jurisdiction, suspend the right to 
operate the motor vehicle in accordance with Title 29-A, section 2461 if a registered 
owner: 
(1)  Does not dispute a notice of liability or pay the tolls, administrative fees and 
civil penalties as required by paragraph C, subparagraph (4); 
(2)  Does not pay the required tolls, administrative fees and civil penalties within 
days of a final decision of a violation clerk determination of liability as 
provided in paragraphs I and J; or 
(3)  Does not pay the required tolls, administrative fees and civil penalties within 
days of final adjudication of liability under paragraph K; or 
(4)  Does not pay the required tolls, administrative fees or civil penalties within 
days of a final adjudication determination of liability by an away agency with 
whom the authority has a reciprocal collection arrangement under subsection 
2-C. 
When notifying the Secretary of State under this paragraph, the authority shall send a 
notice by first class mail informing the registered owner of the pending suspension.  
If the motor vehicle is registered in another jurisdiction and the registered owner's 
address is not known by the authority, the notice may be sent to the motor vehicle 
registry of the jurisdiction that issued the registration. 
Sec. 3.  23 MRSA §1980, sub-§2-A, ¶K, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 591, §2, is 
amended to read: 
K.  Any decision by a violation clerk under this section is subject to judicial review of 
final agency action in the manner provided by Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 7. If a 
registered owner files an appeal pursuant to this subsection appeals, the authority may 
not notify the Secretary of State to suspend the registration certificate and plate issued 
for the vehicle involved in the alleged failure to pay until agency action becomes 
final after the appeal is resolved. 
Sec. 4.  29-A MRSA §154, sub-§6, as amended by PL 2003, c. 591, §4, is further 
amended to read: 
6.  Recovery of turnpike tolls.  Upon receipt of notice from the Maine Turnpike 
Authority in accordance with Title 23, section 1980, subsection 2-A, paragraph G, the 
Secretary of State, in accordance with section 2482, shall mail the required 10-day notice 
and suspend the registration certificate and plates issued for the vehicle in question.  If the 
motor vehicle is registered in another jurisdiction, the Secretary of State shall suspend the 
owner's right to operate the motor vehicle in this State and provide notice of the 
suspension either to the owner, if known, or to the motor vehicle registry of the 
jurisdiction that issued the registration.  The Secretary of State may not reinstate the 
registration certificate and plates or restore the owner's right to operate the motor vehicle 
in the State until the Maine Turnpike Authority provides notice notifies the Secretary of 
State that the toll and applicable fines fees and penalties have been paid.  
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, Title 5, section 9052, subsection 1 does not 
apply to a notice of suspension issued pursuant to this subsection. 
Sec. 5.  29-A MRSA §2069, sub-§3, as amended by PL 2009, c. 493, §1, is 
further amended to read: 
3.  Vehicle used in connection with a crime or operating after suspension traffic 
infraction.  A law enforcement officer may cause the removal to a suitable parking place 
of a vehicle connected with the arrest of the operator or owner of a vehicle or with the 
issuance of a summons for a traffic infraction as described in section 2412-A, subsection 
or used in connection with the commission of a crime.: 
A.  The arrest of the operator or owner of that vehicle; 
B.  The issuance of a summons for a traffic infraction as described in section 2412-A, 
subsection 8; 
C.  A suspended registration pursuant to Title 23, section 1980 or the suspension of 
the owner's right to operate the vehicle pursuant to section 2461 for failure to pay a 
toll; or 
D.  The commission of a crime. 
When a vehicle has been removed pursuant to paragraph C, the vehicle may be released 
only after the tolls, fees and penalties have been paid and the vehicle's registration has 
been reinstated or the owner's right to operate the vehicle has been restored. 
SUMMARY 
This bill permits the Maine Turnpike Authority, in the case of a vehicle registered in 
another jurisdiction that is involved in a toll violation and when the authority knows only 
the license plate of a toll violator and not the identity of the registered owner, to send a 
notice of violation to the motor vehicle registry of the jurisdiction that issued the 
registration.  The notice must contain a warning that if tolls are not paid, the owner's right 
to operate the motor vehicle in Maine may be suspended. 
If the registered owner of a vehicle from another jurisdiction fails to pay or contest 
the notice of liability, the authority is directed to notify the Secretary of State.  The 
Secretary of State then suspends the right of the owner to operate the vehicle in Maine 
and notifies the owner, if known, or the motor vehicle registry of the jurisdiction that 
issued the registration. 
The bill also authorizes a law enforcement officer to remove a vehicle to a suitable 
parking place if it is being operated under a registration that is suspended for failure to 
pay tolls.