New Law Restores Due Process to Statutory Road Associations

Legislators changed the rules for statutory road associations in 2007. Previously, associations had had all rights of due process, including the right to decide for themselves the standard by which they would assign maintenance fees.

One legislator, under the impression that road maintenance fees are taxes, convinced his peers that statutory road associations must apportion road maintenance user fees according to property valuation of the land accessed by the private road.  In fact, road fees aren’t taxes because a strong and direct connection, or nexus, exists between the fee and the uses to which it is put. The distinction wasn’t clear to decision makers at the time, and the bill went forward and was passed.

The change caused great consternation and conflict because it created an impossible requirement many statutory road associations.  A single assessment standard simply won’t meet the needs of all road associations; these groups need latitude in decision making to accommodate the differing situations, personal circumstances, and personalities involved. 

By imposing a one-size-fits-all standard with no direct bearing on degree or type of road use, the legislature made it impossible for many road associations to comply with statutory association requirements.  This was a dire outcome for some, because it meant they lost the court-backed authority to collect (assess liens) from road users who refused to pay their portion.

At the request of the Maine Alliance of Road Associations (MARA) and with COLA support, Representative Gary Knight introduced a bill this year to correct the statutory road problem.  This bill passed, but interestingly not without a fight.  Nevertheless, it’s now law.  In summary, the bill “amends the laws pertaining to road associations formed under the private ways laws by allowing them to make assessments using any method they choose that is endorsed by a majority vote at a duly held meeting.

The bill establishes guidelines for notifying lot owners of any meeting scheduled to deal with maintenance and repair of the private road, private way or bridge. The bill authorizes appointment of  a board to run the meetings. The bill adds maintenance of a road to the laws pertaining to road repairs.