An Act To Amend the Transportation Laws
Maine Legislature, Session 130, LD 1133
Committee: Transportation
Sponsors: MARTIN
Amends: 23 MRSA §73, 23 MRSA §75, 23 MRSA §157, 23 MRSA §7107, 29-A MRSA §101, 29-A MRSA §2053, 30-A MRSA §6006-G

Legislative Document
No. 1133
H.P. 811
House of Representatives, March 22, 2021
An Act To Amend the Transportation Laws
Submitted by the Department of Transportation pursuant to Joint Rule 204.
Received by the Clerk of the House on March 18, 2021.  Referred to the Committee on 
Transportation pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to Joint Rule 401.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative MARTIN of Sinclair.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  23 MRSA §73, sub-§7, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 610, Pt. B, §2, is amended 
to read:
7.  Priorities, service levels, capital asset management goals and reporting.  The 
Department of Transportation shall classify the State's public highways as Priority 1 to 
Priority 6 corridors 5 using factors such as the federal functional classification system, 
regional economic significance, heavy haul truck use and relative regional traffic volumes.  
The department shall also establish customer service levels related to safety, condition and 
serviceability appropriate to the priority of the highway, resulting in a system that grades 
each highway as Excellent, Good, Fair, or Poor or Unacceptable.
To provide a capital transportation program that is geographically balanced and that 
addresses urban and rural needs meets customer expectations and transportation system 
needs, the department shall include the following goals as part of its capital improvement 
plans and program delivery asset management and work plan preparation.  The goals are 
to:
A.  By 2022, improve all Priority 1 and Priority 2 corridors so that their safety, 
condition and serviceability customer service level equals Fair or better;
A-1.  Maintain Priority 1 highways in accordance with the department's federally 
required transportation asset management plan and the department's customer service 
measures so that no more than 15% of the highways are rated as Poor;
B.  By 2027, improve all Priority 3 corridors so that their safety, condition and 
serviceability customer service level equals Fair or better;
B-1.  Maintain Priority 2 and Priority 3 highways so that no more than 15% of the 
highways are rated as Poor; and
C.  By 2017, implement a pavement program for all Priority 4 corridors that maintains 
their ride quality customer service level at Fair or better;
D.  Continue the light capital paving program on a 7-year cycle for Priority 5 corridors 
highways outside compact areas as defined in section 754; and.
E.  By 2015, develop and implement a similar asset priority and customer service level 
system of measurement for all major freight and passenger transportation assets owned 
or supported by the department, including capital goals.
The department shall report to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having 
jurisdiction over transportation matters by March 1st of each odd-numbered year 
quantifying progress realized and time that has elapsed since the goals were established the 
status of each of the goals.  The department shall recommend any remedial actions, 
including additional funding or revisions to the goals, that the department determines to be 
necessary or appropriate.
Sec. 2.  23 MRSA §75 is enacted to read:
§75.  Rail corridor use advisory councils
1.  Purpose.  Upon petition by one or more governmental entities that represent 
communities along a state-owned rail corridor in which the department controls the right-
of-way requesting the department to review a nonrail recreational or nonrecreational 
transportation use of that rail corridor, the Commissioner of Transportation, for each 
petition received, shall notify the joint standing committee of the Legislature having 
jurisdiction over transportation matters and may establish a rail corridor use advisory 
council, referred to in this section as "a council," to facilitate discussion, gather information 
and provide advice to the commissioner regarding future use of the rail corridor identified 
in the petition. The council shall review and make recommendations on the likelihood, 
benefits and costs of potential uses of the rail corridor, including, but not limited to, rail 
use, trail use or bikeways.  Any nonrail use of a rail corridor must be considered by a 
council to be interim in nature, and all such rail corridors must be preserved for future rail 
use as provided in chapter 615.
2.  Membership.  The Commissioner of Transportation shall invite at least 9 and no 
more than 15 persons to serve on a council. Membership may include:
A.  The Commissioner of Transportation or the commissioner's designee;
B.  The Commissioner of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry or the commissioner's 
designee;
C.  The Commissioner of Economic and Community Development or the 
commissioner's designee;
D.  The Commissioner of Health and Human Services or the commissioner's designee;
E.  One or more members representing other state agencies;
F.  One member representing a statewide tourism organization or a regional tourism 
organization of the geographic area containing the rail corridor;
G.  One member representing a chamber of commerce or other regional or local 
economic development entity of the geographic area containing the rail corridor;
H.  One member representing an organization advocating for rail use or preservation;
I.  One member representing an organization advocating for recreational trail use or 
advocating for bicyclist or pedestrian interests; and
J.  One or more municipal officials or staff from municipalities located on the rail 
corridor.
3.  Meetings; chair.  The Commissioner of Transportation shall designate the chair of 
a council. The department shall provide staff support to the council. The council may adopt 
bylaws and other policies to effectively govern its proceedings. The council shall meet at 
the call of the chair and shall hold a minimum of one public hearing located in the 
geographic area along the rail corridor for which the council was formed.
4.  Report.  Within 9 months of convening its first meeting, a council shall submit a 
report to the Commissioner of Transportation on its findings and recommendations 
regarding the use of the rail corridor, including majority and minority reports if necessary. 
Upon conclusion of the council's work, the Commissioner of Transportation shall disband 
that council.
Sec. 3.  23 MRSA §157, first ¶, as amended by PL 2009, c. 265, §2 and affected by 
§3, is further amended to read:
The Department of Transportation or any party or parties aggrieved by an award by the 
State Claims Commission may appeal to the Superior Court in the county where the land 
is situated within 30 days from the date of issuance of the commission award.  This appeal 
is de novo and is taken by filing a notice of appeal with the clerk of the commission.  The 
landowner claiming damages in excess of those paid by the department is denominated 
plaintiff and shall file a complaint setting forth substantially the facts upon which the case 
will be tried like other civil cases.  The party appealing must provide a copy of the 
complaint to be filed in the Superior Court notice of appeal to the other party or parties 
within the same 30 days.
Sec. 4.  23 MRSA §7107, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 498, §4, is amended to read:
§7107.  Dismantling of state-owned track or other nonrail use
Except as provided in this section, the Department of Transportation may not dismantle 
or change state-owned track for a nonrail use or contract with a state agency or private 
entity for the dismantling or changing of state-owned track for a nonrail use.  When the 
department, in consultation with a regional economic planning entity and a regional 
transportation advisory committee established in accordance with rules adopted under 
section 73, subsection 4, determines that removal of a specific length of rail owned by the 
State will not have a negative impact on a region or on future economic opportunities for 
that region, the Commissioner of Transportation shall seek review by the joint standing 
committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over transportation matters prior to 
removal.
The Department of Transportation may not convert a state-owned rail corridor in which 
the department controls the right-of-way to a nonrail recreational or nonrecreational 
transportation use without following the rail corridor use advisory council process 
established under section 75 and without legislative approval.  If the Commissioner of 
Transportation receives a report from a rail corridor use advisory council established under 
section 75 that includes a recommendation of track removal or other change for nonrail use 
and the commissioner concurs with that recommendation, the commissioner shall seek 
legislative approval of the recommendation by submitting legislation to the joint standing 
committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over transportation matters prior to track 
removal or the other change for nonrail use. Legislation submitted under this section must 
include language stating that any track removal or other change for nonrail use is 
considered interim in nature and that the rail corridor will be preserved for future rail use 
as provided under this chapter.
Sec. 5.  29-A MRSA §101, sub-§63-C is enacted to read:
63-C.  Rotary.  "Rotary" means a type of circular intersection with a large diameter 
and straight entries in which traffic circulates counterclockwise around a center traffic 
island.
Sec. 6.  29-A MRSA §101, sub-§63-D is enacted to read:
63-D.  Roundabout.  "Roundabout" means a type of circular intersection with curved 
entries in which traffic circulates counterclockwise around a center traffic island.  
"Roundabout" includes a mini-roundabout with a traversable island.
Sec. 7.  29-A MRSA §2053, sub-§3, ¶A, as enacted by PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. A, §2 
and affected by Pt. B, §5, is amended to read:
A.  At a roundabout, traffic circle or rotary; or
Sec. 8.  29-A MRSA §2053, sub-§6, as repealed and replaced by PL 2003, c. 452, 
Pt. Q, §33 and affected by Pt. X, §2, is amended to read:
6.  Traffic circles, roundabouts or rotary intersections rotaries.  The operator of a 
vehicle:
A.  Approaching a traffic circle, roundabout or rotary intersection shall yield the right-
of-way to a vehicle already within the traffic circle, roundabout or rotary intersection 
unless otherwise regulated by a law enforcement officer or by traffic control devices;
B.  Entering and passing, circulating around and exiting a rotary or traffic circle, 
roundabout or rotary may drive only to the right of the center traffic island of a 
roundabout, mini-roundabout, rotary or traffic circle and shall yield the right-of-way to 
a vehicle on the operator's left; and
C.  May not drive on or across the center part of a rotary, roundabout or traffic circle, 
except that the wheels of a semitrailer or trailer may cross the center part as long as the 
wheels of the towing vehicle do not cross the center part., or, in the case of a mini-
roundabout, may drive across a traversable center traffic island only if the operator is 
operating a combination vehicle or a bus;
D.  May not travel in a traffic circle, roundabout or rotary beyond 2 exit points in the 
outside lane; and
E.  Shall obey all signs and markings on the pavement lawfully placed at the traffic 
circle, roundabout or rotary.
Sec. 9.  30-A MRSA §6006-G, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2011, c. 610, Pt. B, §3, 
is further amended to read:
1.  Establishment; purposes.  The TransCap Trust Fund, referred to in this section as 
"the fund," is established in the custody of the bank to provide transportation capital 
investment for the Department of Transportation and municipalities in accordance with this 
section.  The purpose of the fund is to provide financial assistance for the planning, design, 
acquisition, reconstruction and rehabilitation of transportation capital improvements of all 
modes including improvements that will forward the capital asset management goals set 
forth in Title 23, section 73, subsection 7.
Sec. 10.  30-A MRSA §6006-G, sub-§4, ¶B, as amended by PL 2011, c. 610, Pt. 
B, §4, is further amended to read:
B.  To guarantee or insure, directly or indirectly, the payment of notes or bonds issued 
or to be issued by the State for the purpose of financing capital improvements that will 
forward the capital asset management goals set forth in Title 23, section 73, subsection 
7;
SUMMARY
This bill makes the following changes to the transportation laws.
1.  It revises the priority classifications and goals for the State's public highways.
2.  It authorizes the Commissioner of Transportation to convene a rail corridor use 
advisory council to advise and make recommendations each time one or more 
governmental entities that represent communities along a state-owned rail corridor request 
that the Department of Transportation review a nonrail recreational use or nonrecreational 
transportation use of that rail corridor.  It also prohibits the department from dismantling 
or making changes to state-owned railroad track for a nonrail use without going through 
the advisory council process and obtaining legislative approval. 
3.  It amends the law governing appeals to awards made by the State Claims 
Commission to clarify the appeals filing process.
4.  It defines "roundabouts" and includes them in the laws governing the use of traffic 
circles and rotaries.