AUGUSTA – According to one section of the public shade tree statute, a municipality can’t chop anything without the property owner’s consent.

According to the next section, property owners can’t fell timber without the municipality’s consent.

It’s confusing.

Rep. Richard Wagner, D-Lewiston, presented a bill to the Legislature’s State and Local Government Committee on Monday to clarify the laws on who has the right to alter public shade trees, whether it means clipping a branch or knocking the whole thing down. A public shade tree is defined as one that grows within the limits of public highways.

It’s a problem whenever a tree is dying, gets in the way of power lines, or a resident just wants to get rid of it.

The bill gives municipalities the authority to cut the trees, but only after giving the property owners proper notice and a chance to appeal.

Wagner said he put the bill in by request of the Lewiston-Auburn Forest Board, which was working on a local ordinance.

“In the course of the work, they discovered that the laws at the state level were in conflict and hopelessly confused so that the legality of any ordinance that might be adopted would be in doubt,” Wagner testified.

The bill requires municipalities to adopt guidelines for cutting and trimming trees. This would create a nightmare for companies such as Central Maine Power, which often has to cut through trees to resolve power problems, said David Allen, a CMP legislative liaison, who testified in opposition to the bill.

CMP has 20,000 miles of lines in its system, many that run down rural routes where it is not clear who owns the property. It would be time-consuming to first figure out who the property owner is, then figure out and adhere to the guidelines set by the specific town, Allen said.

Trees are often the cause of power outages. To ease existing concerns, Allen said the company has a list of people they notify if work is being done on their property. Anyone can be added to the list, he said.

Also, on every tree-clipping crew is a licensed arborist, who directs the workers to clip in a way that will keep the tree healthy, he added.

Officials from the Maine State Planning Office also opposed the bill, citing problems for the Department of Transportation, according to a memo from Legislative Liaison John Del Vecchio.

MDOT would only be able to “carry out planting and control activities” in emergency situations under the bill, Del Vecchio wrote, which would hinder department workers’ ability to get their job done.

Auburn lawyer Curtis Webber volunteered to research the issue after going to a Forest Board meeting.

In his testimony, he gave an example of the problems that could arise from the current language: a property owner who might be sick of raking leaves and acorns falling from a “majestic 100-year-old oak tree located in front of his house between the sidewalk and the road.

“Can anyone stop him? After all, he owns the tree. It’s not clear what right the town would have to intervene.”