Maine Dmv Comment On Elio

[zelio]

As a Maine attorney who has done some work with the legislature, I can tell you that the window of opportunity to file a bill starts after election day when we know who the new legislative members will be, and continues until "cloture", which is the last day on which members of the legislature can submit bills without having to get special permission from the legislative leadership of both parties, which may or may not be granted. Cloture will probably be some time in mid-January 2015 for bills filed by legislators. Bills filed by the Governor and departments of the State will have a different deadline. Unless passed on an emergency basis, once enacted by the legislature and signed by the Governor, new statutes will only become effective 90 days after the end of the legislative session. Since the session will probably end some time in June or July, any non-emergency bill passed in the next legislative session will become effective in September or October 2015 . Hopefully, that will be soon enough, since getting something passed on an emergency basis requires a 2/3's vote of both the House and the Senate. If it doesn't get passed during this upcoming session, then, unless there is an emergency session called for some reason (they are usually called for some budgetary issue), the next session will not start until January 2016, and, since it is the second regular session of the upcoming legislature, any bill will have to go through some additional hoops to be considered.

Thanks for posting that information. I'm sure it will help our Maine members plot and plan to get things done. :-) Z

 

[Jay3wheel]

I'm betting on gov't greed, once they realize how much more money they can take in from plate fees. They will quickly change us from cyclists to auto owners. The gov'ts are quick to recognize money on the table.

 

[goofyone]

In Georgia they already get the same amount no matter if it is a motorcycle or a car as they simply tax you at the time you register the vehicle. For all motorized vehicles we must pay a 6.5% title tax when we register a new or used vehicle and then a $20 registration fee per year.

 

[Joshua Caldwell]

I'm at $85/yr plate fee and $120/yr property tax on my car - which is only worth about $2.5k but gets taxed as if it were worth over $4k.

 

[Music Man]

As a Maine attorney who has done some work with the legislature, I can tell you that the window of opportunity to file a bill starts after election day when we know who the new legislative members will be, and continues until "cloture", which is the last day on which members of the legislature can submit bills without having to get special permission from the legislative leadership of both parties, which may or may not be granted. Cloture will probably be some time in mid-January 2015 for bills filed by legislators. Bills filed by the Governor and departments of the State will have a different deadline. Unless passed on an emergency basis, once enacted by the legislature and signed by the Governor, new statutes will only become effective 90 days after the end of the legislative session. Since the session will probably end some time in June or July, any non-emergency bill passed in the next legislative session will become effective in September or October 2015 . Hopefully, that will be soon enough, since getting something passed on an emergency basis requires a 2/3's vote of both the House and the Senate. If it doesn't get passed during this upcoming session, then, unless there is an emergency session called for some reason (they are usually called for some budgetary issue), the next session will not start until January 2016, and, since it is the second regular session of the upcoming legislature, any bill will have to go through some additional hoops to be considered.

WELCOME to our Elio Forum, FBSleeper. . . . . . . Thanks for taking your time to share this information with us! Appreciate you and your time!

 

[John Painter]

As a Maine attorney who has done some work with the legislature, I can tell you that the window of opportunity to file a bill starts after election day when we know who the new legislative members will be.

Maine actually had an "autocycle" category in statute for several years http://www.maine.gov/sos/news/2009/autocycles.htm which had a sunset date for some reason and ironically was repealed 90 days after the adjournment of the First Regular Session of the 126th legislature. Talk about missing the boat. http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/statutes/29-a/title29-Asec2089-A-1.html
It was almost like a “trial” and no one came back to amend the language. After asking around I'm not aware of any issues with the category, it was just an oversight in a typical busy Legislative year, you know the squeaky wheel. I haven't had any problems in the past working with legislators to get bills filed, though the more sponsors there are the better. Let me know if there is something we could coordinate on, if you'd like. I'm in Lewiston, and I'm fairly certain in my district Peggy Rotunto will be returned to her seat - time will tell.

 

[BriansElio]

If it were my question, I would be asking it of the Great Fearless Leader. . . . . . Goofyone.

He IS THE MOUTH PIECE HERE. . . . . "Officially."

"Officially" I live, vote and pay taxes in Indiana.