2.__Reckless conduct is a Class D crime.

Sec. 5. 29-A MRSA §2074, sub-§3, as amended by PL 1995, c. 584, Pt. B, §8, is further amended to read:

3. Criminal offense. A person commits a Class E crime if that person operates a motor vehicle at a speed that exceeds the maximum rate of speed by 30 20 miles per hour or more.

The complaint for a violation of a speed limit must specify the speed at which the defendant is alleged to have operated a motor vehicle.

Sec. 6. 29-A MRSA §2412-A, sub-§1, as amended by PL 1999, c. 743, §5, is further amended to read:

1. Offense; penalty. A person commits a Class E offense if that person operates a motor vehicle on a public way or in a parking area when that person's license has been suspended or revoked, and that person:

A. Has received written notice of a suspension or revocation from the Secretary of State or a court;

B. Has been orally informed of the suspension or revocation by a law enforcement officer or a court;

C. Has actual knowledge of the suspension or revocation;

D. Has been sent written notice in accordance with section 2482 or former Title 29, section 2241, subsection 4; or

E. Has failed to answer, pay a fine or appear in court pursuant to a notice or order specified in section 2605 or 2608.

A person who commits a violation of this subsection must be sentenced to a minimum term of 45 days' imprisonment.

SUMMARY

Current law specifies that a person is guilty of manslaughter, a Class A crime, if that person recklessly or with criminal negligence causes the death of another human being.

This bill specifies that a person commits manslaughter if the person operates a motor vehicle 20 miles per hour or more above the speed limit and causes the death of another person. This bill also changes the crime of criminal speeding to reduce the threshold to 20 miles per hour or more above the speed limit, instead of the current 30 miles per hour or more above the speed limit. The bill enacts a new crime of reckless conduct with a motor vehicle, a Class D crime, if someone causes serious bodily injury to another while operating a motor vehicle at 20 miles per hour or more above the speed limit.

Finally, this bill requires that a person operating a motor vehicle after that person's license has been suspended or revoked, currently a Class E crime, must be sentenced to a minimum of 45 days in jail.