Sec. 1. PL 1997, c.739, §17 is amended to read:

Sec. 17. Recommendations for regulating the use, operation and type of watercraft for great ponds within the organized areas of the State. A municipality, with the approval of its legislative body, may submit recommendations to the Commissioner of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife for regulating the use, operation and type of watercraft on great ponds within the jurisdiction of that municipality. For great ponds that border more than one municipality, recommendations may be submitted only after approval by the legislative bodies of all municipalities in which those waters are located. For great ponds that border lands within the jurisdiction of the Maine Land Use Regulation Commission, the approval of the commission is also required. If a municipality chooses to prepare recommendations for such waters, it shall take into consideration the use to which those waters are put, the depth of the water, the amount of water-borne traffic on the waters, wildlife and environmental values, noise, traditional uses of the water body and the safety of persons and property. These recommendations may be submitted only after a public hearing and must include a description of the resources the municipality or municipalities will use to enforce assist in the enforcement of those regulations if enacted.

The commissioner shall submit a report to the First Regular Session of the 119th Legislature by January 15, 1999 on the recommendations received from municipalities prior to November 1, 1998 and shall submit a report to the Second Regular Session of the 119th Legislature on the recommendations received from municipalities between November 1, 1998 and October 30, 1999. Each report must be accompanied by legislation implementing the municipal recommendations supported by the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. That legislation may also include recommendations of the department, developed using the criteria in this section, for waters not addressed in the municipal proposals.

SUMMARY

This bill clarifies that a municipality is only required to assist in the enforcement of proposed regulations that a municipality submits to the Commissioner of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife regarding the use, operation and type of watercraft on great ponds within the jurisdiction of that municipality.