An Act To Require a Public Notification and Hearing Process before Any Toll Increase by the Maine Turnpike Authority and Establish a Formal Grievance Process
Sec. 1. 23 MRSA §1973, sub-§4, as amended by PL 2011, c. 476, §4, is further amended to read:
(1) Provide notice of the proposed increase in the rate of the toll to the Governor and the Legislature and pursuant to Title 1, section 406, including publishing the notice on the authority's publicly accessible website; and
(2) Hold public hearings on the proposed increase in the rate of the toll in at least 3 municipalities in geographically diverse locations in the State that will be affected by the increase in the rate of the toll.
The provisions of this paragraph do not apply in the event of a natural disaster or other emergency.
Sec. 2. 23 MRSA §1984 is enacted to read:
§ 1984. Grievance process
The authority shall maintain a formal grievance process to receive complaints from the public about the board, the authority or the turnpike. Complaints must be made in writing. The authority shall make public all complaints filed pursuant to the grievance process under this section and every 2 years report all complaints filed to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over transportation matters.
Sec. 3. Rules. The Maine Turnpike Authority shall adopt rules to carry out the provisions of this Act. Rules adopted pursuant to this section are routine technical rules pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.
summary
This bill requires that the Maine Turnpike Authority provide notice and hold public hearings in at least 3 municipalities no later than 60 days before voting on and instituting a toll increase and establishes a grievance process to receive complaints from the public.