An Act Regarding Municipal Costs for Water Used for Firefighting
Maine Legislature, Session 131, LD 0274
Committee: Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services
Sponsors: ANKELES
Amends: 24-A MRSA §3044, 30-A MRSA §3158

Legislative Document
No. 274
H.P. 172
House of Representatives, January 26, 2023
An Act Regarding Municipal Costs for Water Used for Firefighting
Reference to the Committee on Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services 
suggested and ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative ANKELES of Brunswick.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  24-A MRSA §3044 is enacted to read:
§3044.  Coverage for municipal fire costs
1.  Definitions.  As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the 
following terms have the following meanings.
A.  "Actual costs" means the lesser of the amount billed by a water utility for water 
charges for services rendered and $3,000.
B.  "Responsible municipality" means a municipality legally responsible to a water 
utility for payment of water charges for services rendered.
C.  "Water utility" has the same meaning as in Title 35-A, section 102, subsection 22.
2.  Coverage requirement.  All contracts of property insurance delivered or issued for 
delivery in this State providing noncommercial coverage for fire losses must include a 
provision indemnifying a responsible municipality for the actual costs incurred by the 
responsible municipality attributable to the extinguishment of a fire at the insured property. 
3.  Multiple responders.  The superintendent shall adopt rules to establish priority of 
payment in the event that a fire at an insured's property involves more than one responsible 
municipality. The rules may provide that more than one municipality may recover water 
charges attributable to the extinguishment of the fire at the insured property; however, the 
insurer's total liability under the provision required under subsection 2 may not exceed 
$3,000 per occurrence. Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules 
as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.
Sec. 2.  30-A MRSA §3158 is enacted to read:
§3158.  Resident liability for water charges
Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, a municipality may not bill a 
resident of this State for water charges for services rendered assessed by a water utility, as 
defined in Title 35-A, section 102, subsection 22, against the municipality and attributable 
to the extinguishment of a fire at a residential property owned or rented by the resident. 
Nothing in this section may be construed to prohibit the indemnification of a municipality 
in accordance with Title 24-A, section 3044.
SUMMARY
This bill requires a property insurance policy delivered or issued for delivery in this 
State to include a provision for the indemnification of a municipality for the actual costs 
for water service, not to exceed $3,000, incurred by the municipality for the water used in 
connection with extinguishing a fire at an insured's noncommercial property. The bill 
requires the Superintendent of Insurance to adopt rules governing priority of payment when 
more than one municipality incurs costs for water service used in connection with 
extinguishing a fire at an insured's property. The bill also prohibits a municipality from 
seeking reimbursement from a resident for costs for water service incurred by the 
municipality for the water used in connection with extinguishing a fire at a property owned 
or rented by the resident.