An Act To Make Various Changes to the Motor Vehicle Laws
Maine Legislature, Session 129, LD 1769
Committee: Transportation
Sponsors: McLEAN
Amends: 29-A MRSA §1920, 29-A MRSA §2054, 29-A MRSA §2113, 29-A MRSA §2119, 29-A MRSA §2380

Legislative Document
No. 1769
H.P. 1256
House of Representatives, May 23, 2019
An Act To Make Various Changes to the Motor Vehicle Laws
Submitted by the Department of Public Safety pursuant to Joint Rule 204.
Reference to the Committee on Transportation suggested and ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative McLEAN of Gorham.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  29-A MRSA §1920, sub-§1, ¶¶C and D, as amended by PL 2013, c. 30, 
§2, are further amended to read:
C.  For a vehicle of 4,501 pounds to 7,500 pounds, 27 28 inches in the front and 29 
inches in the rear;
D.  For a vehicle of 7,501 pounds to 10,000 pounds, 28 30 inches in the front and 30 
inches in the rear; and
Sec. 2.  29-A MRSA §1920, sub-§1, ¶E, as enacted by PL 2013, c. 30, §2, is 
amended to read:
E.  For a vehicle of 10,001 pounds to 11,500 pounds, 29 31 inches in the front and 31 
inches in the rear.; and
Sec. 3.  29-A MRSA §1920, sub-§1, ¶F is enacted to read:
F.  For a vehicle of 11,501 pounds to 13,000 pounds, 32 inches in the front and 34 
inches in the rear.
Sec. 4.  29-A MRSA §2054, sub-§2, ¶D, as amended by PL 2017, c. 21, §1, is 
further amended to read:
D.  Except as provided in this paragraph, a vehicle may not be equipped with or 
display a blue light.
(1)  Emergency lights used on the following vehicles must emit a blue light or a 
combination of blue and white light: a police vehicle, except that a police vehicle 
may also use red emergency lights under paragraph F; a Department of 
Corrections vehicle as described in subsection 1, paragraph B, subparagraph (6); 
a vehicle operated by a chief of police, a sheriff or a deputy sheriff; and a vehicle 
operated by a qualified deputy sheriff or other qualified individual performing 
court security-related functions and services.
(2)  Emergency lights used on an ambulance, an emergency medical service 
vehicle, a fire department vehicle or a hazardous material response vehicle may 
include one blue light mounted facing toward the rear of the vehicle so that the 
light is primarily visible to approaching traffic from the rear only.
(3)  The taillight of a vehicle, or replica of a vehicle, manufactured prior to 1952 
and registered under section 457, may contain a blue or purple insert of not more 
than one inch in diameter.
(4)  Blue interior auxiliary lighting or dash lighting may be used on any vehicle if 
no portion of the beam of light is visible at a height of 42 inches above a surface 
parallel with the level surface on which the vehicle stands at a distance of 20 feet 
from any part of the vehicle.
(5)  A vehicle owned by the Department of Public Safety may be equipped with 
blue emergency lighting and a siren, but neither the lighting nor the siren may be 
displayed or used except when the vehicle is being operated by a law 
enforcement officer, as defined in Title 25, section 2801-A, subsection 5.
Sec. 5.  29-A MRSA §2113, sub-§1-A is enacted to read:
1-A.  Rolling coal prohibited.  A person may not operate, or cause to have operated, 
a diesel-powered motor vehicle with a manufacturer's gross vehicle weight rating under 
18,000 pounds that emits visible smoke on a public way or parking area because of a 
permanent or temporary alteration to the air pollution control system of the motor vehicle.  
For the purposes of this subsection, "air pollution control system" has the same meaning 
as in section 2111, subsection 1.
Sec. 6.  29-A MRSA §2119, sub-§1, ¶C, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 207, §1, is 
amended to read:
C.  "Text messaging" means reading or manually composing electronic 
communications, including text messages, instant messages and e-mails, using a 
portable electronic device.  "Text messaging" does not include using a global 
positioning or navigation system or an electronic logging device.
Sec. 7.  29-A MRSA §2380, sub-§8, ¶¶B and C, as enacted by PL 1993, c. 683, 
Pt. A, §2 and affected by Pt. B, §5, are amended to read:
B.  Construction equipment used on way and bridge construction projects; and
C.  A load of loose hay, pea vines, cornstalks or other loosely mounded loads that can 
not damage structures or threaten public safety.; and
Sec. 8.  29-A MRSA §2380, sub-§8, ¶D is enacted to read:
D.  Snowplows and equipment mounted on a vehicle traveling from one work 
location to another work location during a snow event, or traveling from the point of 
purchase to a storage location, as long as the vehicle does not exceed 108 inches in 
total width.  For the purposes of this paragraph, "snow event" means the period 
beginning 48 hours before a predicted snowstorm and ending 48 hours after the 
snowstorm.
SUMMARY
This bill amends the motor vehicle laws in the following ways.
1.  It amends the law governing motor vehicle frame end heights to increase 
dimensions for current weight ranges of vehicles.  It also adds vehicles from 11,501 
pounds to 13,000 pounds, which may have frame end heights of 32 inches in the front and 
inches in the rear.
2.  It establishes that a vehicle owned by the Department of Public Safety may be 
equipped with blue emergency lighting and a siren, but neither the lighting nor the siren 
may be displayed or used except when the vehicle is being operated by a law enforcement 
officer.
3.  It establishes that a person may not operate, or cause to have operated, a 
diesel-powered motor vehicle with a manufacturer's gross vehicle weight rating under 
18,000 pounds that emits visible smoke on a public way or parking area because of a 
permanent or temporary alteration to the air pollution control system of the motor vehicle.  
Emitting visible smoke by using such an alteration is commonly referred to as "rolling 
coal."
4.  It excludes the use of electronic logging devices from the definition of "text 
messaging" in the law that governs text messaging while operating a motor vehicle.
5.  It establishes that the law governing motor vehicle heights and widths does not 
apply to snowplows and equipment mounted on a vehicle traveling from one work 
location to another work location during a snow event, or traveling from the point of 
purchase to a storage location, as long as the vehicle does not exceed 108 inches in total 
width.  The term "snow event" is defined as the period beginning 48 hours before a 
predicted snowstorm and ending 48 hours after the snowstorm.