Sec. A-3. Authority expenditures. Before July 1, 2004, the Calais to Eastport Rail Authority may make expenditures only upon review by and approval of the Commissioner of Transportation.

PART B

Sec. B-1. Department of Transportation to transfer right-of-way. The Department of Transportation shall transfer without compensation any interest it has in the railroad right-of-way known as the Calais-Cherryfield rail corridor in the following manner.

1. That part of the railroad right-of-way between Calais and Ayers Junction must be transferred to the Calais to Eastport Rail Authority.

2. That part of the railroad right-of-way between Ayers Junction and the Hancock County line must be transferred to the various towns and cities and unorganized territory in which the rail corridor lies.

For the purposes of this Part, the "Calais-Cherryfield rail corridor" consists of the railroad right-of-way that extends through Washington County from Calais through Cherryfield to the Hancock County line.

SUMMARY

This bill creates the Calais to Eastport Rail Authority. The authority's purpose is to establish freight rail service between Calais and Eastport. The bill transfers to the authority the Department of Transportation's interest in the existing rail line between Calais and Ayers Junction. It also transfers the Department of Transportation's interest in the existing rail line between Ayers Junction and the Hancock County line to those municipalities through which the line runs.