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An Act To Protect a Private Memorial Placed in a Public Right-of-way
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  17-A MRSA §507-C  is enacted to read:
§ 507-C. Private memorial in public right-of-way
 
1.       A person is guilty of tampering with a private memorial in a public right-of-way if that person intentionally or knowingly destroys, mutilates, defaces, injures or removes a monument, marker or other structure, placed in a public right-of-way, designed as a memorial to mark the site of the death of a person or any portion or fragment of such a memorial. For purposes of this section, "right-of-way" means a section of public land that is adjacent to and located within 20 feet of the outside edge of the paved portion of any public way as defined in Title 29-A, section 101, subsection 59.
 
Violation of this subsection is a Class D crime.
 
2.       A person is not guilty of tampering with a private memorial in a public right-of-way if:
 
A.  The person has been given written authority by an authorized member of the family of the person being memorialized to remove the private memorial;
 
B.  The private memorial is more than 3 feet in height; or
 
C.  The private memorial has been erected for more than one year.
 
SUMMARY
This bill prohibits the removal or destruction of a private memorial placed in a public right-of-way to mark the site of the death of a person.