An Act to Amend the Transportation Laws
Maine Legislature, Session 132, LD 0154
Committee: Transportation
Sponsors: CRAFTS
Amends: 23 MRSA §1654-A, 23 MRSA §1801, 23 MRSA §1803-B, 23 MRSA §1803-C, 23 MRSA §7107

Legislative Document
No. 154
H.P. 87
House of Representatives, January 14, 2025
An Act to Amend the Transportation Laws
Submitted by the Department of Transportation pursuant to Joint Rule 204.
Reference to the Committee on Transportation suggested and ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative CRAFTS of Newcastle.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  23 MRSA §1654-A, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 652, §4 and affected by §14, 
is amended to read:
§1654-A.  Transfers from the unallocated balance in Highway Fund unallocated 
surplus
At the close of each fiscal year, the State Controller shall transfer to the Department of 
Transportation, Secondary Road Program Fund, established in section 1803‑C and referred 
to in this section as "the fund," the uncommitted balance in the Highway Fund unallocated 
surplus account. The amount transferred to the fund, when added to previous transfers to 
the fund for the fiscal year in which the uncommitted balance is transferred, may not exceed 
the program funding cap provided in section 1803‑C, subsection 4. Any remaining 
uncommitted balance in the Highway Fund after the transfer to the fund must be transferred 
to the Department of Transportation, Highway and Bridge Capital program amounts 
exceeding $100,000 from the unallocated balance in the Highway Fund to the Department 
of Transportation Highway and Bridge Capital; Highway Light Capital; Maintenance and 
Operations; and Multimodal Transportation Fund programs, for capital and all other needs. 
The Commissioner of Transportation may allot these funds by financial order upon the 
recommendation of the State Budget Officer and the approval of the Governor. The 
transferred amounts are considered adjustments to allocations. Within 30 days after 
approval of the financial order, the Commissioner of Transportation shall provide to the 
joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over transportation matters 
a report detailing the financial status of the Department of Transportation, Highway and 
Bridge Capital program.
For the purposes of this section, "uncommitted balance in the Highway Fund 
unallocated surplus account" or "uncommitted balance" "unallocated balance in the 
Highway Fund" means the amount remaining in the account at the close of the fiscal year 
after the deduction of all allocations, budgeted financial commitments and adjustments 
considered necessary by the State Controller any other transfers authorized by statute.
The State Controller shall include in the State Controller's official annual financial 
report at the close of each fiscal year a statement showing all transfers made from the 
Highway Fund unallocated surplus account unallocated balance in the Highway Fund for 
the fiscal period.
Sec. 2.  23 MRSA §1801, first ¶, as repealed and replaced by PL 1999, c. 473, Pt. 
D, §1, is amended to read:
Municipal transportation assistance funds must be targeted to the capital needs of rural 
local roads and highways, bridges and minor spans and must also reflect urban compact 
maintenance responsibilities on state and state aid roadways.
Sec. 3.  23 MRSA §1801, 3rd ¶, as amended by PL 2011, c. 652, §5 and affected 
by c. 652, §14, is further amended to read:
Responsibility for decisions regarding maintenance and improvement of roads must 
follow the principle that roads that primarily serve regional or statewide needs must be the 
State's responsibility, roads that primarily serve local needs must be a local responsibility 
and roads that primarily serve as minor collector routes and major collector routes may be 
improved through a partnership between municipalities or counties and the State.
Sec. 4.  23 MRSA §1801, 5th ¶, as amended by PL 2011, c. 652, §5 and affected 
by §14, is further amended to read:
The purpose of the Local Road Assistance Program established in this subchapter is to 
provide equitable financial assistance to communities for their use in improving local roads 
and maintaining state roads in urban compact areas.  The purpose of the Secondary Road 
Program Fund established in this subchapter is to establish a partnership between 
communities and the State in making capital improvements to state aid minor collector 
highways and state aid major collector highways.
Sec. 5.  23 MRSA §1803-B, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2013, c. 354, Pt. I, §§1 and 
and affected by §4, is further amended to read:
1.  Distribution and use of funds.  Funds from the Local Road Assistance Program 
must be distributed to each eligible municipality, county or Indian reservation through rural 
road assistance and urban compact assistance funding as follows.
A.  Rural road assistance funds must be distributed as follows.
(1)  Funds are distributed at a rate of $600 per year per lane mile for all rural state 
aid minor collector roads and all public roads maintained by a municipality located 
outside urban compact areas as defined in section 754, except that funds are 
distributed at a rate of $300 per year per lane mile for all seasonal public roads.
(2)    Funds must be used for maintenance or for capital improvements as defined 
by this chapter, or for capital improvements to state aid minor collector highways 
and state aid major collector highways as described in  section 1803‑C.  In 
municipalities, counties and Indian reservations in which there are no rural state 
aid minor collector or major collector roads, funds may also be used for winter 
highway maintenance, acquisition of highway maintenance equipment or the 
construction of highway maintenance buildings if the governing legislative body 
affirmatively votes that its town ways and local bridges are in sufficiently good 
condition so as to not require significant repair or improvement for at least 10 years 
of roadway infrastructure, bridges and drainage structures.
B.  Urban compact assistance funds must be distributed as follows.
(1)  Funds are distributed at a rate of $2,500 per year per lane mile for summer 
maintenance performed by municipalities on state and state aid highways in 
compact areas as defined in section 754.  For each lane mile beyond the 2nd lane 
on a highway with more than 2 lanes, funds are reimbursed at a rate of $1,250 per 
lane mile for summer maintenance in compact areas.  Funds are distributed at a 
rate of $1,700 per year per lane mile for winter maintenance performed by 
municipalities on state highways in compact areas as defined in sections 754 and 
1001 regardless of the number of lanes.  Funds are distributed at a rate of $600 per 
year per lane mile for all other public roads maintained by a municipality and 
located inside a compact area, except that funds are distributed at a rate of $300 
per year per lane mile for all seasonal public roads.
(2)  Funds must be used only for the maintenance or for capital improvement of 
public roads infrastructure, bridges and drainage structures.
D.  Beginning July 1, 2014, the annual funding dedicated for the Local Road Assistance 
Program must be 9% of the Highway Fund allocation to the Department of 
Transportation.  On July 1, 2014 and every July 1st thereafter, the Commissioner of 
Transportation shall administratively adjust the base funding and the reimbursement 
rates per lane mile proportionately according to revenue available.
Sec. 6.  23 MRSA §1803-C, as amended by PL 2023, c. 646, Pt. A, §§30 and 31, is 
repealed.
Sec. 7.  23 MRSA §7107, first ¶, as amended by PL 2021, c. 239, §3, is further 
amended to read:
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.
SUMMARY
This bill extends rural road assistance funds under the Local Road Assistance Program 
for maintenance or capital improvements of roadway infrastructure, bridges and drainage 
structures to all rural state aid roads and all public roads that a municipality maintains. 
Under current law, certain rural state aid roads and urban town ways are excluded from 
receiving these funds and funds may be used only for capital improvements and for 
maintenance in limited circumstances.
The bill amends the provision of law governing the distribution of urban compact 
assistance funds under the Local Road Assistance Program to allow distribution of funds 
for all other public roads maintained by a municipality located inside an urban compact 
area not otherwise covered by that provision. Funds are distributed at a rate of $600 per 
year per lane mile except that funds for all seasonal public roads are distributed at a rate of 
$300 per year per lane mile. 
The bill further adjusts the Local Road Assistance Program by amending the provision 
governing responsibility for decisions related to roads that primarily serve as minor 
collector routes and major collector routes by clarifying that those roads may be improved 
through a partnership between the State and counties or the State and municipalities, as 
opposed to current law, which recognizes only partnerships between the State and 
municipalities. 
The bill repeals the provision of law establishing the Secondary Road Program Fund, 
removes cross-references to that section and changes the provision of law that directs 
transfer of the uncommitted balance in the Highway Fund unallocated surplus account at 
the close of each fiscal year. 
The bill also removes an outdated reference in the State Railroad Preservation and 
Assistance Act.