Sec. 8. 23 MRSA §3358 is amended to read:

§3358. Filing map of location

The party applying for a permit for said an excavation under sections 3351 to 3358 must file a map or sketch with the road commissioner, the commissioner of public works or such officer as the city government municipal officers may appoint in the absence of a commissioner, showing the location and size of cuts to be made.

Sec. 9. 23 MRSA §3359 is amended to read:

§3359. Minimum excavation for pavement on a concrete base

When Unless otherwise required in a municipal ordinance or regulation, when any excavation shall be is made in any paved public highway and said pavement is repaired by a contractor or the commissioner of public works or such officer as the city government may appoint, the commissioner of public works or such officer as the city government may appoint, where said pavements are the pavement is laid on a concrete base, shall the excavation must have the pavement and concrete cut back on each side of the excavation ditch a distance of 8 inches, and in issuing the permits for cutting the pavements pavement this extra width shall must be charged to the person applying for the same permits.

Sec. 10. 23 MRSA c. 307, sub-c. II, Art. 2 is repealed.

SUMMARY

This bill provides towns with the same authority that cities have to regulate excavations of local highways. The term "municipal officers" is substituted for "city government" to include different forms of local government. Additionally, the bill includes the reasonable cost of municipal inspections and of the reduced life of the roadway among the costs that may be assessed. The bill clarifies that municipalities have the right to protect local highways and this right may not be preempted by other laws governing the regulation of utilities. The bill adds a definition of the term "base material."