LD 2062

132nd MAINE LEGISLATURE
  SECOND REGULAR SESSION-2026
Legislative Document  No. 2062
S.P. 849  In Senate, December 17, 2025
  An Act to Enhance the Safety of Public Transit Bus Operators
  Through the Installation of Vehicle Security Barriers
   Approved for introduction by a majority of the Legislative Council pursuant to Joint Rule
203.
   Received by the Secretary of the Senate on December 15, 2025. Referred to the Committee
on Transportation pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed.
  DAREK M. GRANT
  Secretary of the Senate
Presented by Senator PIERCE of Cumberland.
  Printed on recycled paper
1 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
2     Sec. 1. 23 MRSA §4209-B is enacted to read:
3 §4209-B. Public transit bus vehicle security barriers
4    1. Short title. This section may be known and cited as "the Public Transit Bus
5 Operator Safety Act."
6     2. Definitions. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the
7 following terms have the following meanings.
8     A. "Fund" means the Public Transit Bus Operator Safety Fund established in
9     subsection 4.
10     B. "Public transit agency" means an entity, including a municipal, regional or state
11     authority, that operates public transportation services within the State.
12     C. "Public transit bus" means a motor vehicle, as defined in Title 29-A, section 101,
13     subsection 42, that is designed to carry more than 15 persons, including the public
14     transit bus operator, and that is operated by a public transit agency or by a private
15     company contracted to provide public transit service on behalf of a public transit
16     agency.
17     D. "Public transit bus operator" means an individual employed to operate a public
18     transit bus.
19     E. "Vehicle security barrier" means a transparent, protective partition made of hard,
20     durable materials that:
21(1) Is capable of fully enclosing the public transit bus operator's workstation and
22of preventing the unwanted entry of individuals, fluids and objects into the
23workstation;
24(2) Does not impede the public transit bus operator's lines of sight from the
25workstation to the exterior of the public transit bus; and
26(3) Allows the public transit bus operator to maintain communications with
27passengers.
28     3. Mandatory installation of vehicle security barriers. In accordance with the
29 timeline and standards established under this subsection, a public transit agency shall install
30 or arrange for the installation of vehicle security barriers in all public transit buses.
31     A. The department, in consultation with public transit agencies, labor organizations
32     representing public transit bus operators and joint labor-management safety
33     committees, if any, shall establish through rulemaking minimum standards for vehicle
34     security barriers. Such standards must address the design, materials and installation
35     specifications of vehicle security barriers.
36     B. When procuring vehicle security barriers and any other materials funded by the fund,
37     a public transit agency shall consult with a labor organization representing the public
38     transit agency's public transit bus operators and a joint labor-management safety
39     committee, if the public transit agency is party to such a committee.
40     C. A public transit bus that does not have a vehicle security barrier installed may not
41     be operated on or after August 1, 2029.
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1     4. Public Transit Bus Operator Safety Fund. The Public Transit Bus Operator
2 Safety Fund is established within the department as a nonlapsing fund to provide grants to
3 public transit agencies for the purchase, installation and maintenance of vehicle security
4 barriers. Beginning August 1, 2029, the fund may provide grants to public transit agencies
5 for expenditures, other than for vehicle security barriers, to improve transit bus operator
6 safety, and a public transit agency may apply for such a grant as determined jointly by the
7 public transit agency and a labor organization representing public transit bus operators and
8 a joint labor-management safety committee, if any. The fund consists of money received
9 as appropriations, allocations and contributions from public and private sources.
10     5. Reporting requirements. Before August 1, 2027, 2028 and 2029, each public
11 transit agency shall submit an annual report to the department regarding the progress of the
12 public transit agency in installing vehicle security barriers as required by this section. Each
13 report must set forth the steps that the public transit agency has taken to comply with the
14 requirements to install vehicle security barriers, the tasks remaining for the public transit
15 agency to complete in order to achieve full compliance and an estimated completion date
16 for each of these tasks. The department shall make the reports required under this
17 subsection available to the public within 30 days of receiving the reports.
18     6. Rules. The department shall adopt rules to implement this section. Rules adopted
19 pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375,
20 subchapter 2-A.
21    Sec. 2. Department of Transportation to establish standards for vehicle
22 security barriers in public transit buses. Before February 1, 2027, the Department
23 of Transportation shall establish through rulemaking minimum standards for vehicle
24 security barriers in public transit buses in accordance with the Maine Revised Statutes,
25 Title 23, section 4209-B, subsection 3.
26     Sec. 3. Appropriations and allocations. The following appropriations and
27 allocations are made.
28 TRANSPORTATION, DEPARTMENT OF
29 Public Transit Bus Operator Safety Fund N559
30 Initiative: Provides one-time funding to the Public Transit Bus Operator Safety Fund within
31 the Department of Transportation to provide grants to public transit agencies for the
32 purchase, installation and maintenance of vehicle security barriers.
33 GENERAL FUND  2025-26  2026-27
34  All Other  $0        $2,000,000
35__________       __________
36 GENERAL FUND TOTAL  $0        $2,000,000
37
33SUMMARY
38
34     This bill requires public transit agencies, including municipal, regional and state
39
35 authorities, that operate public transportation services within the State to install vehicle
40
36 security barriers that enclose the public transit bus operator's workstation and prevent the
41
37 unwanted entry of individuals, fluids and objects into the workstation. The bill directs the
42
38 Department of Transportation to establish minimum standards for vehicle security barriers
43
39 and establishes the Public Transit Bus Operator Safety Fund to provide grants to public
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40
1 transit agencies for the purchase, installation and maintenance of vehicle security barriers.
41
2 Beginning August 1, 2029, the fund may also provide grants for expenditures to improve
42
3 public transit bus operator safety. In establishing minimum standards and other uses of the
43
4 fund, the bill requires consultation with labor organizations representing public transit bus
44
5 operators and joint labor-management safety committees.
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