An Act Regarding Stops of All-terrain Vehicles and Snowmobiles by Law Enforcement Officers
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 and examine any all-terrain vehicle being operated on a trail in the Maine Trails System established pursuant to section 1892 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. If the all-terrain vehicle is being operated more than 20 feet from a trail in the Maine Trails System, the warden, for any reason, may stop and examine the all-terrain vehicle and operator. Other law enforcement officers are subject to the provisions of this paragraph;
Sec. 2. 12 MRSA §10353, sub-§2, ¶H, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 414, Pt. A, §2 and affected by c. 614, §9, is amended to read:
H. Stop If the warden has reasonable and articulable suspicion to believe that a violation of law has taken place or is taking place, stop and examine any snowmobile being operated on a trail in the Maine Trails System established pursuant to section 1892 to ascertain whether it is being operated in compliance with chapter 937 or any other provision of this Part regulating snowmobiles; demand and inspect the operator's certificate of registration; and examine the identification numbers of the snowmobile and any marks on it . If the snowmobile is not being operated on a trail in the Maine Trails System, the warden, for any reason, may stop and examine the snowmobile and operator. Other law enforcement officers are subject to the provisions of this paragraph; and
SUMMARY
Current law requires a game warden or other law enforcement officer to have a reasonable and articulable suspicion to stop an all-terrain vehicle or ATV; no such restriction is placed on game wardens or law enforcement officers stopping snowmobiles.
This bill maintains that reasonable and articulable suspicion requirement for a game warden or law enforcement officer stopping an ATV being operated on a trail in the Maine Trails System and also applies it to snowmobiles being operated on a trail in the Maine Trails System. For an ATV that is more than 20 feet from one of those trails or a snowmobile that is not on one of those trails, no reasonable suspicion is required to stop and examine the ATV or snowmobile or its operator.