An Act To Restrict the Authority for Posting of Roads
Maine Legislature, Session 129, LD 0261
Committee: Transportation
Sponsors: BLACK, HALL, DAVIS, DILL, FARRIN, DUNPHY, MARTIN, PERKINS, STANLEY, STEWART
Amends: 29-A MRSA §2395

Legislative Document
No. 261
S.P. 73
In Senate, January 22, 2019
An Act To Restrict the Authority for Posting of Roads
Reference to the Committee on Transportation suggested and ordered printed.
DAREK M. GRANT
Secretary of the Senate
Presented by Senator BLACK of Franklin.
Cosponsored by Representative HALL of Wilton and
Senators: DAVIS of Piscataquis, DILL of Penobscot, FARRIN of Somerset, Representatives: 
DUNPHY of Old Town, MARTIN of Sinclair, PERKINS of Oakland, STANLEY of Medway, 
STEWART of Presque Isle.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  29-A MRSA §2395, sub-§1, as corrected by RR 1995, c. 1, §26, is 
amended to read:
1.  Right of the Department of Transportation.  The Department of Transportation 
may restrict the weight or passage of any vehicle over any way when, in its judgment, 
such passage would be unsafe or likely to cause excessive damage to the way or bridge.  
Nothing in Except as provided in subsection 9, this Title may not be construed to restrict 
or abridge this right.
Sec. 2.  29-A MRSA §2395, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2013, c. 55, §1, is further 
amended to read:
2.  Rules.  The Except as provided in subsection 9, the Department of Transportation 
may adopt rules to ensure proper use and prevent abuse of the public ways under the 
department's jurisdiction whenever those ways require special protection.  Rules adopted 
pursuant to this section are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, 
subchapter 2-A.
Sec. 3.  29-A MRSA §2395, sub-§3, as enacted by PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. A, §2 and 
affected by Pt. B, §5, is amended to read:
3.  Designation by the Department of Transportation.  The Except as provided in 
subsection 9, the Department of Transportation may designate state and state aid 
highways and bridges over which restrictions on gross weight, speed, operation and 
equipment apply during periods of the year determined by the Department department.  It 
is unlawful for any vehicle to travel over public ways with a gross registered weight 
exceeding that prescribed by the Department department and traveling with a load other 
than tools or equipment necessary for operation of the vehicle.
Sec. 4.  29-A MRSA §2395, sub-§4, as amended by PL 2017, c. 25, §1, is further 
amended to read:
4.  Designation by counties and municipalities.  County Except as provided in 
subsection 9, county commissioners and municipal officers may designate public ways 
other than those in subsection 3 and impose restrictions within their respective 
jurisdictions similar to those made by the Department of Transportation under subsection 
3.  Any vehicle delivering home heating fuel or organic animal bedding material and 
operating in accordance with a permit issued by the Department of Transportation 
pursuant to this section may travel over any county or town way without a specific 
municipal or county permit.  A municipality may impose additional restrictions for a 
vehicle delivering home heating fuel or organic animal bedding material to operate on 
public ways within that municipality but may not require a permit to operate according to 
those restrictions.
Sec. 5.  29-A MRSA §2395, sub-§9 is enacted to read:
9.  Restricted authority.  The Department of Transportation, county commissioners 
and municipal officers within their respective jurisdictions may not:
A.  Impose any restriction on a public way for more than 6 weeks at a time unless 
written justification to continue the restriction is made publicly available before the 
end of the 6-week period;
B.  Impose size and weight restrictions for vehicles on a public way that apply during 
any period when the ambient air temperature is below 31 degrees Fahrenheit; or
C.  Impose restrictions that prevent a commercial entity from operating the entity's 
vehicles on the public way where it is headquartered or where it is conducting its 
business activities.
SUMMARY
This bill requires publicly available written justification for imposing restrictions on a 
public way for more than 6 weeks, prohibits the imposition of size and weight restrictions 
for vehicles on a public way when the ambient air temperature is below 31 degrees 
Fahrenheit and protects the ability of a commercial entity to operate its vehicles on the 
public way where it is headquartered or where it is conducting its business activities.