Which version of Maine's Site Location Law definition of 'subdivision' should the Department of Environmental Protection use when the supplement prints two competing texts?

Plain-English summary

John James of the DEP Land Bureau noticed that the 1988 Supplementary Pamphlet for Volume 16A of MRSA carried two competing texts of 38 M.R.S.A. § 482(5), Maine's Site Location of Development Law definition of "subdivision." Page 241 showed one version; page 242 showed another. DEP was already disseminating the page 242 version and wanted assurance that this was correct. The AG memo from Sam Kilbourn and Peggy McCloskey confirmed that DEP had picked the right one.

P.L. 1987, c. 812, § 7 repealed and replaced § 482(5) in its entirety. P.L. 1987, c. 737 referred to the new Title 30-A codification of the municipal subdivision law in place of Title 30, § 4956. Chapter 812 did not refer to chapter 737 or its Title 30-A wording. The AG memorandum suggested that West Publishing printed both versions to show the chapter 737 amendment, which otherwise would have been omitted from the supplement.

The memo identified the legislative fix: amend the chapter 812 text to include chapter 737's reference to 30-A M.R.S.A. § 4551. It said the Title 30-A wording would take effect March 1, 1989, while the subdivision definition then in effect was the chapter 812 version on page 242.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1989. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

Why did the 1988 Supplementary Pamphlet carry two versions of § 482(5)?

The AG memorandum's best explanation was that West Publishing showed the earlier text to display chapter 737's reference to Title 30-A, which chapter 812 had not incorporated when it replaced the section.

Which version was the operative statute?

The page 242 version, enacted by P.L. 1987, c. 812, § 7. The memorandum agreed with DEP's use of that version.

What had Chapter 737 changed?

It updated a cross-reference. The municipal subdivision law had been moved from Title 30, § 4956 to Title 30-A, § 4551 during the 1987 recodification of municipal law. Chapter 737 made § 482(5)(B) point to the new location. When chapter 812 rewrote the section, that cross-reference change disappeared from the operative text.

Did the dangling cross-reference cause a substantive problem?

The memorandum did not assess the practical consequences of the mismatched cross-reference. It said the Legislature would need to amend the chapter 812 text to include chapter 737's reference to 30-A M.R.S.A. § 4551.

Who signed off on this guidance?

The memorandum lists Assistant Attorneys General Sam Kilbourn and Peggy McCloskey as its authors. It was addressed to John James in DEP's Land Bureau and copied to Deputy AG Philip Ahrens.

Background and statutory framework

Maine's Site Location of Development Law regulates large-scale land development and defines "subdivision" in 38 M.R.S.A. § 482(5). The municipal subdivision law historically lived at 30 M.R.S.A. § 4956. In 1987 the Legislature recodified municipal law into Title 30-A, moving subdivision regulation to 30-A M.R.S.A. § 4551. Two 1987 public laws then collided in the supplement: chapter 737 made the cross-reference change, and chapter 812 repealed and replaced § 482(5) without absorbing the chapter 737 fix. The 1988 supplement printed both texts; the AG memo confirmed which was operative and identified the cleanup the Legislature still needed to do.

Citations

• 38 M.R.S.A. § 482(5) (1988 Pamph.)
• P.L. 1987, c. 812, § 7
• P.L. 1987, c. 737
• 30-A M.R.S.A. § 4551 (municipal subdivision law)
• 30 M.R.S.A. § 4956 (pre-recodification municipal subdivision law)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.maine.gov/legis/lawlib/lldl/agops/agops.htm
• Original PDF: https://lldc.mainelegislature.org/Open/AG/Opinions/1989/ag_19890125.pdf

Original opinion text

Department of Attorney General

MEMORANDUM

To: John James, Land Bureau, Department of Environmental Protection
From: Sam Kilbourn and Peggy McCloskey, Assistant Attorneys General
Date: January 25, 1989
Subject: Site Location Law, Definition of Subdivision

In response to your memorandum of January 18, 1989 regarding the two versions of 38 M.R.S.A. § 482(5) (1988 Pamph.), your reference to page 242 implies that the DEP has been working with the version enacted by P.L. 1987, c. 812, § 7, and with this we agree. As best we can determine, the reason that West Publishing Company included in the supplement the previously existing version of § 482(5) was to show the amendments that were made to that section by the P.L. 1987, c. 737, specifically which made reference to the new codification of Title 30-A, where in paragraph B of § 482(5) there is reference made to the municipal subdivision law. The reason for this appears to be that when Chapter 812, § 7 repealed and replaced all of § 482(5), no reference was made to the previously enacted Chapter 737 and its reference to Title 30-A. Therefore, to have omitted the old version would have been to omit the new wording regarding Title 30-A (which will take effect on March 1, 1989).

In short, what the Legislature will need to do to resolve this will be to amend the law as amended by Chapter 812 to include the amendments made by Chapter 737 which refer to Title 30-A, § 4551 (instead of Title 30, § 4956). However, the definition of subdivision as it has been amended and exists now is, as you note, on page 242 of the supplementary pamphlet being P.L. 1987, c. 812, § 7.

SK/ec
cc: Philip Ahrens, Deputy Attorney General

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DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

Date: 2/2/88
TO: Lynn Randall, Sta. #3
FROM: Mary Morgan, DEP Land Sta. 17

FOR: YOUR INFORMATION [checked]

REMARKS

This is how we have resolved the subdivision def. problem as far as which is correct.

RETURN TO SENDER
Yes ( ) No (checked)

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STATE OF MAINE
Department of Environmental Protection

MEMORANDUM

TO: Philip Ahrens, Deputy Attorney General
FROM: John James, Land Bureau, D.E.P.
DATE: January 18, 1989
SUBJ: Subdivision Definition, Site Location Law

The 1988 Supplementary Pamphlet for Volume 16A of MRSA contains two versions of the Site Location subdivision definition, 38 M.R.S.A., Section 482(5). The DEP is using and disseminating the second version on page 242 of the Supplementary Pamphlet. Are we correct to do so? If so, why is it correct to use this version and ot the version on page 241?

Please note that the definition of subdivision, the exceptions aside, reads differently in the two versions.

Thanks for your help.

JJ/CHIPMEM/pmf