AUGUSTA, Maine — Republican Senate President Mike Thibodeau of Winterport received a favorable response Monday to a bill he proposed that would make drivers liable for emergency response costs if the emergency occurred because they were driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
Thibodeau’s bill, LD 944, would allow emergency responders in an incident that stems from an operating-under-the-influence situation to bill the offending driver, or in most cases, his or her insurance company, for up to $2,500 of the cost incurred.
“I think we could all agree that folks who are making poor decisions shouldn’t expect property taxpayers to pay their bills,” Thibodeau said. “That is what’s going on today. … That’s unfair, and that’s what we’re attempting to fix.
Thibodeau said his bill would provide financial relief to towns and cities, as well as rural fire departments that already are on bare-bones budgets. California, Illinois, Michigan, Texas and Virginia already have similar laws on the books.
Walter McKee, an Augusta-based attorney who is chairman of the Maine Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers’ legislative committee, said Maine law already includes provisions that help emergency responders recoup their costs, though he said in his experience, those provisions are rarely triggered.
“Most expenses are already recoverable by insurance,” he said.
Several members of the Criminal Justice Committee, where Thibodeau presented his bill, said they would like to see the concept formalized in law.
Rep. Tim Theriault, R-China, who is a volunteer firefighter, said he would like to add provisions to the bill that spell out how compensation among more than one emergency responder would be divided in mutual aid situations.
“I want to make sure the money goes out equally,” Theriault said. “There’s got to be something in here so these towns don’t fight, because that will happen.”
Thibodeau said his bill would be of particular help to rural communities.
“We’re struggling to get volunteers in rural Maine, and this is an attempt to give a little bit of recognition back to the communities that they shouldn’t shoulder the burden for someone’s poor decisions,” Thibodeau said.
Thibodeau’s bill will come back to the Criminal Justice Committee for further consideration in the coming days.
