Sec. 1. 29-A MRSA §2414-A is enacted to read:

§2414-A.__Owner liability for failure to stop for law

enforcement officer

1.__Refusing to stop for law enforcement officer.__A person who is a registered owner of a vehicle at the time that vehicle is operated by another person in a violation under section 2414, subsection 2 commits a traffic infraction.

2.__Eluding officer.__A person who is a registered owner of a vehicle at the time that vehicle is operated by another person in a violation under section 2414, subsection 3 commits a Class D crime.

3.__Passing roadblock.__A person who is a registered owner of a vehicle at the time that vehicle is operated by another person in a violation under section 2414, subsection 4 commits a Class D crime.

4.__Aggravating factor.__A person who is a registered owner of a vehicle at the time that vehicle is operated by another person and is involved in a violation under section 2414, subsection 3 or 4, and a person other than the operator suffers serious bodily injury, as defined in Title 17-A, section 2, subsection 23, as a result, commits a Class C crime.

5.__Owner not operator of vehicle.__Except as provided in subsection 6, it is not a defense to a violation under this section that a registered owner was not operating a vehicle at the time of a violation under subsection 1, 2, 3 or 4.

6.__Defenses.__The following are defenses to a violation of this section.

A.__If a person other than the registered owner is convicted of operating a vehicle at the time of a violation under section 2414, subsection 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7, then the registered owner may not be found in violation under this section.

B.__If the registered owner is a lessor of vehicles and at the time of a violation a vehicle was in the possession of a lessee, and if the lessor provides the investigating officer with a copy of the lease agreement containing the information required by section 254, then the lessee, not the lessor, must be charged under this section.