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An Act To Remove the Provision That a Motorcycle Operator May Prove a Motorcycle Muffler Does Not Exceed Specific Noise Standards
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 29-A MRSA §1912, sub-§6, as repealed and replaced by PL 2011, c. 158, §1, is amended to read:
 
6. Defense for noise violations by motor vehicles.   The following are defenses to a violation of subsection 1 or 3.
 
A. If a muffler or exhaust system of a motor vehicle as defined in section 101, subsection 42, not including a motorcycle, does not emit noise in excess of 95 decibels as measured in accordance with standards and specifications outlined in standard J-1169 adopted by the Society of Automotive Engineers in May 1998, subsections 1 and 3 do not apply. A person served with a Violation Summons and Complaint charging a violation of subsection 1 or 3 must provide satisfactory evidence that the muffler or exhaust system does not emit noise in excess of 95 decibels as measured in accordance with standards and specifications outlined in standard J-1169 adopted by the Society of Automotive Engineers in May 1998. Measurements must be made by a participating certified inspection station.
 
B.  Subsections 1 and 3 do not apply to a muffler or exhaust system of a motorcycle that does not emit noise, as measured in accordance with standards and specifications outlined in standard J-2825 adopted by the Society of Automotive Engineers in May 2009, in excess of 92 decibels at an idle and emits noise that does not measure:
 
(1) More than 96 decibels using the set RPM test or swept RPM test for an engine configuration other than a 3-cylinder or 4-cylinder engine configuration; or
 
(2) More than 100 decibels using the set RPM test or swept RPM test for a 3-cylinder or 4-cylinder engine configuration.
 
A person served with a Violation Summons and Complaint charging a violation of subsection 1 or 3 must provide satisfactory evidence that the muffler or exhaust system does not exceed decibel levels as described in this paragraph. Measurements must be made by a participating certified inspection station.
 
SUMMARY
Current law prohibits the operation of a motor vehicle that is not equipped with an adequate muffler properly maintained to prevent excessive or unusual noise, which includes noise emitted by a motor vehicle that is noticeably louder than similar vehicles in the environment, or that is equipped with a muffler that has been modified to amplify or increase the noise emitted by the muffler above the original muffler. Motorcycles are exempt if the muffler or exhaust system does not emit noise in excess of 92 decibels measured according to a specific standard. The burden of proving that the motorcycle is in compliance is on the operator of the motorcycle.
This bill repeals that exemption for motorcycles.