An Act to Regulate Outdoor Lighting
Maine Legislature, Session 131, LD 1845
Committee: Environment and Natural Resources
Sponsors: OSHER, GROHOSKI, KESSLER, LOOKNER, O'NEIL, RUNTE, WILLIAMS, BRENNER
Amends: 5 MRSA §1769

Legislative Document
No. 1845
H.P. 1177
House of Representatives, April 27, 2023
An Act to Regulate Outdoor Lighting
Reference to the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources suggested and ordered 
printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative OSHER of Orono.
Cosponsored by Senator GROHOSKI of Hancock and
Representatives: KESSLER of South Portland, LOOKNER of Portland, O'NEIL of Saco, 
RUNTE of York, WILLIAMS of Bar Harbor, Senator: BRENNER of Cumberland.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  5 MRSA §1769, sub-§2, ¶B, as enacted by PL 1991, c. 481, §1, is amended 
to read:
B.  The luminaire's maximum illuminance does not exceed the minimum illuminance 
recommended for that purpose by the Illuminating Engineering Society of America or 
the federal Department of Transportation; and
Sec. 2.  5 MRSA §1769, sub-§2, ¶B-1 is enacted to read:
B-1.  In the case of a permanent outdoor luminaire installed to illuminate a building 
owned or leased by the State or the grounds of such a building, the luminaire’s 
illuminance is consistent with relevant lighting zone illuminance recommendations of 
the Illuminating Engineering Society; and
Sec. 3.  38 MRSA c. 35 is enacted to read:
CHAPTER 35
LIGHT POLLUTION
§3131.  Outdoor lighting
This section governs outdoor lighting fixtures. Nothing in this section limits the 
application of Title 5, section 1769 or Title 23, section 708 governing the use of state funds 
to install or replace outdoor lighting fixtures.
1. Definitions.  As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the 
following terms have the following meanings.
A.  "Outdoor lighting fixture" means an outdoor artificial lighting device, whether 
temporary, portable or permanently installed, including but not limited to a searchlight, 
spotlight, floodlight or other device for lighting a landscape, advertisement, structure, 
parking lot or street that uses:
(1) One or more incandescent light bulbs that use in total more than 150 watts of 
electricity; or
(2) Any other lighting device that uses more than 70 watts of electricity.
B.  "Mercury vapor lamp" has the same meaning as in 10 Code of Federal Regulations, 
Section 431.282 (2009).
C.  "Place" means, with respect to a temporary or portable outdoor lighting fixture, to 
place and use outside.
D. "Replace" means, with respect to an outdoor lighting fixture, to replace an outdoor 
lighting fixture that is nonfunctional with a new outdoor lighting fixture. 
E. "Shielded" means, with respect to an outdoor lighting fixture, that a shield or other 
device has been placed on the fixture that ensures that light emitted from the fixture is 
projected below a horizontal plane running through a point immediately above the 
emitting light, as specified by the department by rule.
2. Prohibition.  Beginning January 1, 2024, except as provided in subsection 3, a 
person may not:
A. Place or install an outdoor lighting fixture unless the fixture is shielded or replace 
an outdoor lighting fixture unless the replacement is shielded;
B.  Illuminate an outdoor lighting fixture between 11 p.m. and sunrise unless the fixture 
is shielded; or
C. Place or install an outdoor lighting fixture that uses a mercury vapor lamp or replace 
an outdoor lighting fixture with one that uses a mercury vapor lamp. 
3. Exemptions.  The following are exempt from the requirements of subsection 2:
A. An outdoor lighting fixture used to illuminate signs on the Maine Turnpike or an 
interstate highway as defined in Title 23, section 1903, subsection 3;
B. An outdoor lighting fixture used at an airport or otherwise necessary for aircraft 
safety, as determined by the department by rule; and
C.  An outdoor lighting fixture used at a farm for the safety of agricultural labor as 
defined in Title 26, section 1043, subsection 1.
4. Ratemaking; public utilities.  A public utility regulated by the Public Utilities 
Commission under Title 35-A that prudently incurs costs to comply with the requirements 
of subsection 2 or an ordinance described in subsection 5 is entitled to recover those costs 
in rates.
5. Application; enforcement.  This subsection governs the application and 
enforcement of this section.
A. The provisions of subsection 2 do not apply in a municipality that has adopted an 
ordinance that includes the requirements of subsection 2 or requirements stricter than 
those in subsection 2.   The ordinance must include the exemptions specified in 
subsection 3 and no other exemptions.  A municipality that has adopted such an 
ordinance shall notify the department and provide to the department an electronic link 
to the ordinance.  The department shall post on its publicly accessible website a link to 
each such ordinance.  This paragraph places express limitations on municipal home 
rule authority.
B. The department shall enforce the requirements of this section in any area of the State 
not governed by an ordinance described in paragraph A. 
6. Violations.  Whenever it appears, after investigation, that there is or has been a 
violation of subsection 2,  the commissioner may, after holding an enforcement hearing in 
accordance with section 347-A, subsection 2:
A. For a first violation, issue to the violator an order to take such action as is necessary 
for the violator to come into compliance, including but not limited to ceasing use of an 
outdoor lighting fixture in violation of subsection 2 or replacing an outdoor lighting 
fixture with one that complies with subsection 2; and
B. If the commissioner finds that an order issued under paragraph A has not been 
complied with after 30 days, or finds that the violator has committed another violation 
of this section, assess the violator an administrative penalty not to exceed $25 for each 
outdoor lighting fixture that is the subject of the violation.  The commissioner shall 
reduce the penalty, but not below $0, by any cost the commissioner finds the violator 
incurs to replace an outdoor lighting fixture with one that complies with this section.
SUMMARY
This bill regulates outdoor lighting fixtures.  Beginning January 1, 2024, it imposes, 
with some exceptions, certain requirements related to the installation and use of outdoor 
lighting fixtures.  It prohibits a person from placing or installing an outdoor lighting fixture 
unless the fixture is shielded to direct the light downward.  It provides that if an outdoor 
lighting fixture is not shielded it may not be operated between 11 p.m. and sunrise.  It 
prohibits the installation of outdoor lighting fixtures that use a mercury vapor lamp.  These 
provisions apply in the absence of a municipal ordinance that provides the same or more 
restrictive requirements.  Where there is no such ordinance, the Department of 
Environmental Protection has authority to enforce the requirements.  It also requires 
outdoor luminaires for buildings owned or leased by the State to be consistent with certain 
standards established by the Illuminating Engineering Society.