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An Act To Increase Mandatory Minimum Insurance Requirements for Vehicles for Hire
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 29-A MRSA §1611, sub-§2, ¶A,  as affected by PL 1995, c. 65, Pt. A, §153 and amended by Pt. B, §18 and affected by Pt. C, §15, is further amended to read:
 
A.  Except as provided in paragraph E, there is a $350,000$500,000 combined single limit for rental vehicles, emergency vehicles and for-hire transportation vehicles for transporting freight or merchandise but not passengers in intrastate-exempt service or service exempted by the Interstate Commerce Commission.
Sec. 2. 29-A MRSA §1611, sub-§2, ¶B,  as amended by PL 2007, c. 703, §23, is further amended to read:
 
B. For vehicles used exclusively to transport passengers for hire between points within the State, including motor vehicles under contract with the State, a municipality or a school district for the transportation of students, but not vehicles defined as school buses in section 2301, subsection 5, there is a combined single limit of:
 
(1) One hundred twenty-fiveFive hundred thousand dollars, or split limits consisting of $50,000 per person and $100,000 per occurrence for bodily injury liability, and $25,000 for property damage liability for vehicles that are designed to carry no more than 3 passengers behind the driver's seat;
 
(2) Three hundred thousandOne million dollars for vehicles that are designed to carry 4 to 7 passengers behind the driver's seat, including those vehicles under contract with the State, a municipality or a school district for the transportation of students;
 
(3) Seven hundred fiftyOne million five hundred thousand dollars for vehicles that are designed to carry 8 to 15 passengers behind the driver's seat;
 
(4) OneThree million five hundred thousand dollars for vehicles that are designed to carry 16 to 30 passengers behind the driver's seat;
 
(5) TwoFive million dollars for vehicles that are designed to carry 31 or more passengers behind the driver's seat; and
 
(6) Four hundred thousand dollars for vehicles registered to a transit district as defined in Title 30-A, section 3501.
Sec. 3. 29-A MRSA §1611, sub-§2, ¶E,  as affected by PL 1995, c. 65, Pt. A, §153 and enacted by Pt. B, §20 and affected by Pt. C, §15, is amended to read:
 
E.  For rental trucks with a registered gross weight of 26,000 pounds or less, rented or leased for fewer than 30 days:
 
(1) There is a combined single limit of $125,000; or$500,000.
 
(2) There is a split limit of $50,000 per person or $100,000 per occurrence for bodily injury liability and $25,000 for property damage liability.
 
SUMMARY
This bill increases the required minimum insurance coverage for vehicles for hire, including emergency vehicles and rental vehicles.