An Act to Allow a
Maine Legislature, Session 132, LD 0918
Committee Amendment CA_A_H124 (House)
Amends: 29-A MRSA §1613

COMMJTTEE AMENDMENT" ~to H.P. 583, L.D. 918, "An Act to Allow a 
Qualifying Religious Organization to Self-insure for Automobile Insurance" 
Amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting the following: 
'An Act to Allow a Qualifying Religious Organization Whose Religion Prohibits Using 
Insurance to Self-insure for Automobile Insurance' 
Amend the bill by striking out all of section 4 and inserting the following: 
'Sec. 4. 29-A MRSA §1613 is enacted to read: 
§1613. Self-insurance permitted for certain religious organizations 
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Title to the contrary, the Secretary of State 
may grant an exemption from any provision of this subchapter for any motor vehicle owned 
or operated by a religious organization or its members subject to the following minimum 
requirements. 
1. Qualifying religious organization. In order to be eligible to self-insure under this 
section, a religious organization must demonstrate with documentation to the satisfaction 
of the Secretary of State that: 
A. The religious organization has been recognized by the United States Social Security 
Administration as an eligible religious group under Section 1402(g) of the United 
States Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and has filed Form 4029 or a 
substantially similar form with the federal Internal Revenue Service; 
B. The religious organization has established tenets and faith-based teachings and has 
been in existence continuously since December 31. 1950; 
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C. The religious organization and its members operate 5 or more motor vehicles in this 
State that are owned or leased by the religious organization or one of its members; 
D, Each member of the religious organization that owns a motor vehicle has filed Form 
4029 or a substantially similar form with the federal Internal Revenue Service; 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT A" to H.P. 583, L.D. 918 
E. The religious organization and its members hold a common belief in mutual 
financial assistance in time of need to the extent that they share in fmancial obligations 
of members who would otherwise not be able to meet their obligations: 
F. The religious organization and its members have met all of their responsibilities for 
fmancial responsibility under this subchapter for the 2 years preceding its application 
to self-insure under this section: 
G. The religious organization is financially solvent and not subject to any actions of 
bankruptcy, trusteeship, receivership or any other court proceedings in which the 
financial solvency of the religious organization is at issue: 
H. The religious organization and its members are not subject to any judgments arising 
out of the operation, maintenance or use of a motor vehicle that have remained 
unsatisfied for more than 30 days after final judgment was issued: 
I. There are no factors causing the Secretary of State to believe that the religious 
organization and its members do not have the financial ability to pay any future 
judgments against them: and 
J. The religious organization and its members meet any other requirements prescribed 
in rules adopted in accordance with this section. 
2. Requirements for self-insurance. Upon application under this section, the 
religious organization shall file with the Treasurer of State satisfactory proof in the form of 
an irrevocable letter of credit from a qualified financial institution valid for a period of 6 
years, and updated annually, or the deposit of money and securities as provided in section 
1605, subsection 3, paragraph B and section 1605, subsection 4 that the religious 
organization meets the following minimum requirements: 
A. For 5 to 10 motor vehicles, the amount of the inevocable letter of credit or deposit 
of money and securities must be equal to a combined single limit of $250,000: and 
B. For more than 10 motor vehicles, the amount in paragraph A must be increased by 
$5,000 per motor vehicle. 
Upon application under this section, the religious organization shall submit to the Secretary 
of State a receipt from the Treasurer of State showing the filing of an irrevocable letter of 
credit or the deposit of money and securities in the amounts required by this subsection and 
a list of the motor vehicles owned or operated by the religious organization and its 
members, including information identifying for each motor vehicle the legal owner of the 
motor vehicle: the vehicle identification number: and the make, model and year of the 
motor vehicle. 
Upon receiving an application in accordance with this subsection, the Secretary of State 
may require a religious organization to submit a fee not to exceed $100 as established in 
rules adopted by the Secretary of State pursuant to subsection 6. 
3. Issuance of certificate of self-insurance. Upon demonstration that a religious 
organization has met the requirements of subsections 1 and 2 and has paid any required 
application fee. the Secretary of State shall issue a certificate of self-insurance to the 
religious organization. The ce1tificate of self-insurance serves as evidence of fmancial 
responsibility required by section 1605, subsection 2. Any member of the religious 
organization may provide the ce1tificate of self-insurance as evidence of fmancial 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 'A "to H.P. 583, L.D, 918 
responsibility required by section 1605, subsection 2 to register a motor vehicle owned or 
operated by that member. 
4. Quarterly reporting. A religious organization granted a certificate of self-insurance 
under this section shall report to the Secretary of State on a quarterly basis on any claims 
made to the organization arising out of the operation, maintenance or use of a motor vehicle 
owned or operated by the religious organization and its members, including, but not limited 
to, the number of claims made during the reporting period; the number of claims still open 
from a previous reporting period; the number of claims satisfied during the reporting 
period; and for each claim made during the reporting period, the date the incident 
underlying the claim occurred, the type of the claim, the amount paid, the date of any 
payment made by the religious organization, the name of the individual paid and the name 
of any insurance company or insurance adjuster involved in the claim. The religious 
organization shall also provide on a quarterly basis an updated list of motor vehicles owned 
or operated by the religious organization and its members as initially required upon 
application in accordance with subsection 2 if any motor vehicle owner or operated by the 
religious organization and its members is removed or added. 
5. Notice of withdrawal. A religious organization granted a certificate of self-
insurance under this section shall notify the Secretary of State in writing if any member of 
the religious organization ceases to be a member within 10 days of that member's departure 
or removal from the religious organization. 
6. Termination of self-insurance. The Secretary of State may: 
A. At any time after granting a certificate of self-insurance, terminate the authorization 
for self-insurance if the secretary determines that the religious organization no longer 
meets the requirements for self-insurance under this section. Notice of the te1mination 
must be provided to the religious organization in writing at least 30 days prior to the 
te1mination of the authorization; and 
B. Terminate the authorization for self-insurance if the religious organization or its 
members are subject to a judgment arising out of the operation, maintenance or use of 
a motor vehicle and that judgment has remained unsatisfied for more than 30 days after 
the fmal judgment was issued. The Treasurer of State may hold deposited money or 
securities until the judgment is satisfied. 
7. Rules. The Secretary of State may adopt rules as necessary to implement the 
requirements of this section. Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine technical 
rules as defined in Title 5. chapter 375. subchapter 2-A. 
8. Applicability. A certificate of self-insurance granted by the Secretary of State 
pursuant to this section does not apply to: 
A. A motor vehicle with a registered gross weight of 26,001 pounds or more or a motor 
vehicle requiring its operator to hold a commercial driver's license: 
B. An emergency vehicle; 
C. A for-hire transportation vehicle for transporting freight or merchandise: 
D. A for-hire transportation vehicle for transporting passengers: 
E. A school bus: or 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "4-" to H.P. 583, L.D. 918 
F. A rental vehicle. 
Sec. 5. 
Appropriations and allocations. The following appropriations and 
allocations are made. 
SECRETARY OF STATE, DEPARTMENT OF 
Administration - Motor Vehicles 0077 
Initiative: Provides allocations to establish one Public Service Manager II position, 2 Public 
Service Coordinator I positions, one Assistant Risk Assessor position, one Attorney 
position and one Office Specialist I position and for related All Other costs to establish a 
program to evaluate the ability of qualifying religious organizations to self-insure motor 
vehicles. 
IDGHWAYFUND 
POSITIONS - LEGISLATIVE COUNT 
Personal Services 
All Other 
HIGHWAY FUND TOTAL 
2025-26 
6.000 
$860,065 
$953,726 
$1,813,791 
2026-27 
6.000 
$887,587 
$54,211 
$941,798 
Amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or section 
number to read consecutively. 
SUMMARY 
This amendment, which is the minority report of the committee, makes the following 
changes to the bill. 
1. It clarifies that the religious organization must have established tenets and faith-
based teachings and have been in existence continuously since December 31, 1950. 
2. It clarifies that members of the religious organization must provide documentation 
that the members have filed Form 4029 with the federal Internal Revenue Service. 
3. It increases the financial responsibility requirements to $5,000 per vehicle instead of 
$2,500 per vehicle for a religious organization applying to self-insure more than 10 motor 
vehicles. 
4. It requires a religious organization to file evidence of an irrevocable letter of credit 
or the deposit of money and securities with the Treasurer of State instead of the Secretary 
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of State and requires submission of a receipt to the Secretary of State as proof of fmancial 
responsibility. 
5. It requires that the religious organization submit a list of the motor vehicles to be 
self-insured at the time of application and requires quarterly updates to be submitted if 
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motor vehicles are added or removed. 
6. It requires the religious organization to submit quarterly reports to the Secretary of 
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State related to any claims submitted to the religious organization arising out of the 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to H.P. 583, L.D. 918 
operation, maintenance or use of a motor vehicle owned or operated by the religious 
organization and its members. 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Approved: 04/17 /25 LRL 
LD918 
LR 891(02) 
An Act to Allow a Qualifying Religious Organization to Self-insure for Automobile Insurance 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment ,\!' ( H- / 'Z, -1) 
Committee: Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services 
Net Cost (Savings) 
Highway Fund 
Appropriations/ Allocations 
Highway Fund 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
FY2025-26 
$1,813,791 
$1,813,791 
$941,798 
$941,798 
Projections 
FY 2027-28 
$970,201 
$970,201 
Projections 
FY 2028-29 
$999,513 
$999,513 
The bill includes Highway Fund allocations of $1,813,791 in fiscal year 2025-26 and $941,798 in fiscal year 2026-27 
to the Department of Secretary of State to establish one Public Service Manager II position, two Public Service 
Coordinator I positions, one Assistant Risk Assessor position, one Attorney position, one Office Specialist I position 
and related All Other costs to establish a program to evaluate the ability of qualifying religious organizations·to self-
insure motor vehicles. 
Additional costs to the Office of Treasurer associated with this legislation are expected to be minor and can be 
absorbed within existing budgeted resources. 
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LR0891(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 oq