Sec. 1. 29-A MRSA §2075, sub-§3, as enacted by PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. A, §2 and affected by Pt. B, §5, is amended to read:

3. Municipal authority. A Except as provided in this subsection, a municipality may not alter a speed limit or enact or enforce a regulation contrary to this Title. A municipality may:

A. Regulate traffic by means of signal devices or other appropriate methods on a way on which traffic is heavy or continuous;

B. Limit traffic to one-way traffic on a way, subject to Title 23, section 1351;

C. Regulate speed of vehicles in public parks by erecting at all entrances to the park adequate signs giving notice of the special speed regulations; and

D. With the approval of the Department of Transportation and the Chief of the Maine State Police, increase the speed limit on through ways by erecting adequate signs giving notice of the speed limit. ; and

E.__Decrease the speed limit in an area that has a speed limit of 25 miles per hour to 15 miles per hour.__The municipality may decrease the speed limit only after a public hearing and upon a vote of the municipal officers.__A municipality that decreases a speed limit pursuant to this paragraph shall inform the Department of Transportation in writing of the reduction within 10 days of the vote reducing the speed limit.

SUMMARY

Current law prohibits a municipality from changing a speed limit on a road within the municipality except with the approval of the Department of Transportation and the Chief of the State Police.

This bill allows a municipality, after a public hearing and vote of the municipal officers, to decrease the speed limit in a 25-miles-per-hour zone to 15 miles per hour.