| | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: |
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| | | Sec. 1. 12 MRSA §6455, sub-§5, as amended by PL 2001, c. 226, §1, is | | further amended to read: |
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| | | 5. Fund established; license surcharge assessed. The Lobster | | Promotion Fund, referred to in this subchapter as the "fund," is | | established to carry out the purposes of this subchapter. The | | department shall pay to the fund all money appropriated or | | received by the department for the purposes of this subchapter, | | except that the department may retain funds necessary to | | reimburse the department for the actual cost of collecting the | | license surcharges established in this subsection. The fund is | | capitalized from the following annual surcharges assessed on the | | following licenses issued by the department for calendar years | | 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, | | 2003, 2004 and 2005 to 2020: |
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| | | A. Class I crab and lobster licenses for persons 18 to 69 | | years of age, $31.25; |
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| | | B. Class II crab and lobster licenses, $62.50; |
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| | | C. Class III crab and lobster licenses, $93.75; |
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| | | D. Wholesale seafood licenses with lobster permits, $250; | | and |
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| | | E. Lobster transportation licenses, $250. |
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| | | A person holding more than one of the licenses listed in this | | subsection is assessed a surcharge only on the highest | | surchargeable license held. |
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| | | The Treasurer of State shall hold all surcharges assessed by this | | subsection in the fund and invest all money in the fund until | | disbursed to the council upon request of the council. Interest | | from investments accrues to the fund. |
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| | | All money in the fund is subject to allocation by the | | Legislature. Unexpended balances in the fund at the end of the | | fiscal year may not lapse but must be carried forward to be used | | for the same purposes. |
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| | | In addition to payment of the regular license fee and the | | surcharge, a person purchasing a license subject to the | | surcharges established in this subsection may make voluntary | | contributions to the fund at the time the license is purchased. | | Voluntary contributions received by the department from a | | licensee pursuant to this subsection must be deposited in the |
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