Sec. 1. 23 MRSA §3101, as amended by PL 1999, c. 552, §1, is further amended to read:

§3101. Call of meetings; repairs

Except as provided in this section, when 4 or more parcels of land are benefited by a private way or bridge as an appurtenant easement or by fee ownership of the way or bridge, the owners of any 3 or more of the parcels, as long as at least 3 of the parcels are owned by different persons, may make written application to a notary public to call a meeting, who may issue a warrant setting forth the time, place and purpose of the meeting, copies of which must be posted at some public place in the town and mailed to the owners of all the parcels benefited by the way at the addresses set forth in the municipal tax records, at least 30 days before such time. When so assembled, they may choose a commissioner, to be sworn, and they may determine what repairs are necessary and the materials to be furnished or amount of money to be paid by each owner for the repairs and the manner of calling future meetings. A landowner who does not have a primary residence on any of the parcels of land or who resides on any of the parcels for less than 6 months per calendar year may be assessed for the repairs no more than 1/2 of the amount that is assessed for the repairs against a landowner who has a primary residence or resides on any of the parcels for 6 months or longer in a calendar year. This section does not apply to ways constructed or primarily used for commercial or forest management purposes. As used in this section, "repairs" does not include paving, except to repair existing pavement or in locations where limited paving is demonstrated to be a cost-effective approach for fixing an erosion problem.

SUMMARY

This bill ensures that individuals who do not have primary residences or who live on a parcel of land for less than 6 months a year will be assessed a 1/2 share of the amount assessed against a full-time resident for repairs to private ways.