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131st MAINE LEGISLATURE |
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LD 1881 |
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LR 77(02) |
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An Act Regarding
Compensation Fees and Related Conservation Efforts to Protect Soils and
Wildlife and Fisheries Habitat from Solar and Wind Energy Development and
High-impact Electric Transmission Lines Under the Site Location of
Development Laws |
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Fiscal Note for
Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment " " |
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Committee: Agriculture, Conservation and
Forestry |
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Fiscal Note Required: Yes |
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| Fiscal Note |
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Current biennium revenue increase - Other Special Revenue Funds
Current biennium cost increase - Other Special Revenue Funds |
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| Fiscal Detail
and Notes |
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The bill
establishes a solar energy compensation program which includes compensation
fees for the impact of solar energy projects developed on high-value
agricultural land, which must be defined through rulemaking. This fee will be
determined by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) in
consultation with the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry
(ACF) and will be credited to the Maine Working Farmland Access and
Protection Fund within ACF. The bill also establishes a compensation fee
program for renewable energy development that impacts wildlife and fisheries
habitats and directs that revenues from this fee be credited to existing
accounts within the Maine Environmental Protection Fund within the DEP. As
the bill directs the DEP to coordinate with the ACF to calculate the
compensation fees and define the lands impacted before any revenue can be
generated, no estimate is made at this time, but it is anticipated to
generate significant Other Special Revenue Funds revenue for both the ACF and
the DEP. Additional allocations will be required to authorize expenditure of
any revenue collected. |
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