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An Act To Amend the Laws Affecting the Judicial Branch Regarding Railroad Trespass Civil Violations and Fines for Civil Violations
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 4 MRSA §171-A, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 1991, c. 733, §1, is amended to read:
 
2. Civil violations.   When a complaint is made to the proper officer of the District Court charging a person with the commission of a civil violation other than a traffic infraction, the officer of the District Court shall cause to be served upon the person a Uniform Summons and Complaint or other process in such form and under such circumstances as the Supreme Judicial Court shall by rule provide. The clerk of each division may accept an admission to a civil violation upon payment of a fine and surcharge in accordance with a schedule of violations, fines and surcharges established by the Chief Judge, which the Chief Judge may amend.
Sec. 2. 23 MRSA §7007, sub-§3, ¶¶A to C, as amended by PL 2015, c. 204, §1, are further amended to read:
 
A. A person who violates subsection 1 commits a civil violationtraffic infraction for which a fine of not less than $50 and not more than $100 may be adjudged.
 
B. A person who violates subsection 1 after having previously violated subsection 1 commits a civil violationtraffic infraction for which a fine of not less than $250 and not more than $500 may be adjudged.
 
C. A person who violates subsection 1 after having previously violated subsection 1 2 times commits a civil violationtraffic infraction for which a fine of not less than $750 and not more than $1,000 may be adjudged.
 
SUMMARY
This bill permits violations of certain railroad trespass provisions to be handled by the District Court's violations bureau in the same way as traffic infractions are handled by changing the violations from civil violations to traffic infractions; under the bill, a violator may waive a court appearance and pay a fine for the violation through the District Court's violations bureau. The bill also establishes the duty of the Chief Judge of the District Court to establish the level of fines for other civil violations for persons charged who wish to waive a court appearance.