Sec. 3. 12 MRSA §6447, sub-§5-B, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 466, §4, is repealed.

Sec. 4. 12 MRSA §6447, sub-§5-C is enacted to read:

5-C.__Apprentice program rules. Notwithstanding any other provision of this subchapter, upon approval in a referendum under subsection 6, a lobster management policy council may propose to the commissioner rules for a zone that do any of the following:

A. Increase the minimum length of time an apprentice must be enrolled in the apprentice program beyond the period established in section 6422, subsection 2.__The minimum enrollment period may not exceed 5 years.

B.__Require a sponsor of an apprentice to have held a Class I, Class II or Class III lobster and crab fishing license for at least 5 years; and

C. Require a person to complete all requirements of the apprentice program in a specific zone in order to enter that zone as a Class I, Class II or Class III lobster and crab fishing license holder.__A rule proposed under this paragraph and adopted under section 6446, subsection 2 may not be applied to those portions of the apprentice program requirements a person has completed prior to the effective date of the rule.

A rule proposed under paragraph A or B and adopted by the commissioner under section 6446, subsection 2 does not apply to persons who are enrolled in the apprentice program on the date the rule takes effect.

Sec. 5. Retroactivity. That portion of this Act that enacts the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 12, section 6447, subsection 5-C applies retroactively to January 1, 2005.