Sec. 1. 23 MRSA §3101, as amended by PL 1997, c. 682, §1, is further amended by adding at the end a new paragraph to read:

Owners of parcels of land directly benefited by a public easement are deemed to have an appurtenant easement in a way or bridge for purposes of__utilizing the process in this subchapter to maintain that public easement.

Sec. 2. Study. The Committee to Study Public Easements, referred to in this section as the "committee," is created.

1. The committee consists of 7 members appointed as follows:

A. The President of the Senate shall appoint 2 Senators, one of whom is a member of the Joint Standing Committee on State and Local Government and one of whom is a member of the Joint Standing Committee on Judiciary;

B. The Speaker of the House of Representatives shall appoint 2 members of the House of Representatives, one of whom is a member of the Joint Standing Committee on State and Local Government and one of whom is a member of the Joint Standing Committee on Judiciary;

C. The Maine State Bar Association shall appoint one member with expertise in property law;

D. The Maine Municipal Association shall appoint one member; and

E. The President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall jointly name one member of the public with an interest in public easements.

All appointments must be made no later than 30 days following the effective date of this Act. The appointing authorities shall notify the Executive Director of the Legislative Council upon making their appointments.

2. The first-named Senator is the Senate chair of the committee and the first-named member of the House of Representatives is the House chair of the committee.

3. When appointment of all members is completed, the chairs shall call and convene the committee for the first meeting, which must be no later than September 15, 1999.