An Act To Amend the Standards by Which Game Wardens May Stop All-terrain Vehicles Operating on Private Property
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 12 MRSA §10353, sub-§2, ¶G, as amended by PL 2009, c. 389, §1, is further amended to read:
G. If the warden has reasonable and articulable suspicion to believe that a violation of law has taken place or is taking place, stop Stop and examine any all-terrain vehicle to ascertain whether it is being operated in compliance with chapter 939 or any other provision of this Part regulating ATVs, demand and inspect the operator's certificate of registration and, when appropriate, demand and inspect evidence that the operator has satisfactorily completed a training course as required by section 13152 . Other law enforcement officers are subject to the provisions of this paragraph;
summary
Current law provides that a game warden may stop an all-terrain vehicle to ascertain whether a violation of the law has occurred if the game warden has a reasonable and articulable suspicion to believe that a violation of the law has taken place or is taking place. This bill allows a game warden to stop an all-terrain vehicle without a reasonable and articulable suspicion to believe a violation of the law has occurred, which was the standard in law prior to 2009.