An Act to Grant Municipalities the Authority to Set Certain Lower Motor Vehicle Speed Limits Without a Department of Transportation Speed Study
Maine Legislature, Session 131, LD 1634
Committee: Transportation
Sponsors: BENNETT, CHIPMAN, DAUGHTRY, ANKELES, ZAGER, ZEIGLER
Amends: 29-A MRSA §2075

Legislative Document
No. 1634
S.P. 651
In Senate, April 12, 2023
An Act to Grant Municipalities the Authority to Set Certain Lower 
Motor Vehicle Speed Limits Without a Department of 
Transportation Speed Study
Reference to the Committee on Transportation suggested and ordered printed.
DAREK M. GRANT
Secretary of the Senate
Presented by Senator BENNETT of Oxford.
Cosponsored by Senators: CHIPMAN of Cumberland, DAUGHTRY of Cumberland, 
Representatives: ANKELES of Brunswick, ZAGER of Portland, ZEIGLER of Montville.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  29-A MRSA §2075, sub-§3, ¶E, as amended by PL 2003, c. 92, §3, is 
further amended by amending the 2nd blocked paragraph to read:
Unless otherwise approved as provided in paragraph D or G, speed limits set by a 
municipality must be in 5-mile-per-hour increments within the following ranges:
(1)  From 20 to 25 miles per hour, inclusive, regarding roads in a business or 
residential district or a compact area, except that the lower limit may be set at 15 
miles per hour on roads on islands not accessible by road or dead end roads less 
than 1/4 mile in length; and
(2)  From 30 to 50 miles per hour, inclusive, regarding roads in all other areas.
Sec. 2.  29-A MRSA §2075, sub-§3, ¶E, as amended by PL 2003, c. 92, §3, is 
further amended by amending the 4th blocked paragraph to read:
The Department of Transportation may require a municipality with a population of 
5,000 or more as measured by the latest decennial United States census that has not 
provided written notice to the department that the municipality will set speed limits in 
accordance with this paragraph to provide the department with all data necessary to set 
such speed limits.  The nature, extent and form of that data must be acceptable to the 
department and may include, without limitation, the reason for the request, length and 
location of the proposed speed zone, road width, number of driveways in that zone, 
traffic volume, posted speed, prevailing speed as measured by radar, accident history 
and speed enforcement efforts; and
Sec. 3.  29-A MRSA §2075, sub-§3, ¶F, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 92, §4, is 
amended to read:
F.  With the approval of the Department of Transportation and the Chief of the State 
Police, and in accordance with the latest edition of the Manual on Uniform Traffic 
Control Devices published by the Federal Highway Administration, designate a school 
zone to which the speed limits in section 2074, subsection 1, paragraph A apply.;
Sec. 4.  29-A MRSA §2075, sub-§3, ¶G is enacted to read:
G.  For a business or residential district, a compact area or growth area under Title 
30-A, section 4301, subsection 6-C with a speed limit of 35 miles per hour or less, a 
municipality:
(1)  May change a speed limit on a single road or section of road without assuming 
responsibility for setting or managing the speed limits on all roads within the 
municipality;
(2)  May lower the speed limit up to 10 miles per hour to no lower than a speed 
limit of 20 miles per hour, including making the speed limit uniform through the 
area, without a department study or other data requirements;
(3)  Shall review any safety deficiencies and seek public input in a plan to lower a 
speed limit under this paragraph prior to lowering the speed limit; and
(4)  Shall report annually on peak traffic time and nonpeak traffic time the speeds 
of motor vehicles, pedestrian counts and bicycle counts before and after a change 
of a speed limit under this paragraph for a period of 5 years after the change in 
speed limit to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction 
over transportation matters; and
Sec. 5.  29-A MRSA §2075, sub-§3, ¶H is enacted to read:
H.  Make physical changes to a road in a business or residential district, a compact area 
or a growth area under Title 30-A, section 4301, subsection 6-C to promote better 
compliance with a posted speed limit.
SUMMARY
This bill authorizes municipalities to change a speed limit on a single road or section 
of road without assuming responsibility for setting or managing speed limits on all roads 
within the municipality and reduce posted speed limits by up to 10 miles per hour in 
business, residential, compact and growth areas to no lower than 20 miles per hour and to 
make physical changes to a road in those areas to promote better compliance with posted 
speed limits. The bill also requires a municipality that has changed a speed limit to review 
any safety deficiencies, seek public input and report to the Legislature for a period of 5 
years data on before and after motor vehicle speeds, pedestrian counts and bicycle counts.