An Act To Require Municipalities To Maintain Access on Public Rights-of-way

Sec. 1. 23 MRSA §3026-A, sub-§1-A, ¶B,  as enacted by PL 2017, c. 345, §2, is repealed and the following enacted in its place:

Sec. 2. 23 MRSA §3028, sub-§1, ¶¶A to C  are enacted to read:

Sec. 3. 23 MRSA §3201  is amended to read:

§ 3201. Removal required; damages

When any ways are blocked or encumbered with snow, the road commissioner shall forthwith cause so much of it to be removed or trodden down as will render them passable. The town may direct the manner of doing it. The municipal officers of a town may direct a road commissioner to take down fences on the line of a public highway when the municipal officers determine it to be necessary to prevent the drifting of snow in the highway. If a fence is taken down, the municipal officers shall ensure that, as soon as possible after the snow season is over, the fence is replaced in as good condition as when taken down and without expense to the owner. In case of sudden injury to ways or bridges, he the road commissioner shall without delay cause them to be repaired. All damage , accruing to a person in his the person's business or property through neglect of such the road commissioner or the municipal officers of such the town to so render passable ways that are blocked or encumbered with snow, within a reasonable time, may be recovered of such the town by a civil action.

Sec. 4. 23 MRSA §3202,  is repealed and the following enacted in its place:

§ 3202.  Mail routes

A town shall maintain any public right-of-way used as part of a United States postal route in passable condition for postal service delivery. All maintenance must be in accordance with applicable United States Postal Service requirements. If the postal service route is seasonal, the right-of-way must be maintained for the applicable season and, if the mail route is year-round, it must be maintained year-round. For the purposes of this subsection, "public right-of-way" means a public right-of-way held by the town but does not include a private right-of-way or a road in which the town does not hold a right-of-way or any state or state aid highway maintained by the State.

Sec. 5. 23 MRSA §3203  is enacted to read:

§ 3203.  Enforcement

Failure of a town to satisfy the requirements of section 3201 or 3202, subsection 1 is deemed a failure to maintain a way under chapter 313 and the actions and remedies specified in sections 3651 to 3655 apply to the failure.

summary

This bill:

1. Provides that in the context of a road discontinuance proceeding the municipal officers must proceed with a discontinuance without retaining a public easement if the municipal officers verify that private easements that run with the title of the property owners' land for the purpose of allowing travel along the way for all abutting property owners and their lessees and guests have been filed with the registry of deeds. If the municipal officers are unable to verify those easements, they may discontinue the road only if a public easement is retained and the public use for which the easement is retained is specified. If the municipality retains a public easement, the municipality must provide sufficient public maintenance of the public easement to allow the specified use;

2. Modifies the road abandonment law to provide that:

3. Moves a provision of law relating to the removal of snow fences along public highways from a section relating to mail routes to the section of law relating to snow removal;

4. Requires a town to maintain any town public right-of-way used as part of a United States postal route in passable condition for postal service delivery. All maintenance must be in accordance with applicable United States Postal Service requirements. If the postal service route is seasonal, the right-of-way must be maintained for the applicable season and, if the mail route is year-round, it must be maintained year-round; and

5. Provides that a failure of a town to meet the snow removal and other maintenance requirements of the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 23, section 3201 and section 3202, subsection 1 is deemed a failure to maintain a way under Title 23, chapter 313 and the actions and remedies specified in sections 3651 to 3655 of that chapter apply to such a failure.