PLEASE NOTE: Legislative Information cannot perform research, provide legal advice, or interpret Maine law. For legal assistance, please contact a qualified attorney.
An Act To Improve the Control and Prevention of Invasive Plant Infestations
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 12 MRSA §10206, sub-§3, ¶C, as amended by PL 2005, c. 12, Pt. III, §2, is further amended to read:
C.  All revenues collected under the provisions of this Part relating to watercraft, including chapter 935, including fines, fees and other available money deposited with the Treasurer of State, must be distributed as undedicated revenue to the General Fund and the Department of Marine Resources according to an allocation rate that directly relates to the administrative costs of the Division of Licensing and Registration. Three dollars of each motorized watercraft registration is dedicated to the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and is not subject to the split with another agency as required under this paragraph. The Legislature shall appropriate to the department in each fiscal year an amount equal to the administrative costs incurred by the department in collecting revenue under this subsection. Those costs must be verified by the Department of Marine Resources and the Department of Administrative and Financial Services. The allocation rate must also allow for any necessary year-end reconciliation and accounting distribution. The allocation rate must be jointly agreed to by the department and the Department of Marine Resources and approved by the Department of Administrative and Financial Services, Bureau of the Budget.
The fees outlined in section 13056, subsection 8, paragraphs A and B for watercraft operating on inland waters of the State each include a $10 fee for invasive species prevention and control. This fee is disposed of as follows:
(1) Sixty percent of the fee must be credited to the Invasive Aquatic Plant and Nuisance Species Fund established within the Department of Environmental Protection under Title 38, section 1863; and
(2) Forty percent of the fee must be credited to the Lake and River Protection Fund established within the department under section 10257.
Sec. 2. 12 MRSA §13056, sub-§8, ¶A, as amended by PL 2005, c. 12, Pt. III, §38, is further amended to read:
A.  For a watercraft requiring or whose owner requests a certificate of number and that is equipped with a motor having a manufacturer's horsepower rating of:
(1) Ten horsepower or less, the fee is $20 for operating on inland waters of the State and $10 for operating only on tidal waters of the State;
(2) Greater than 10, but not more than 50 horsepower, the fee is $25 for operating on inland waters of the State and $15 for operating only on tidal waters of the State; and
(3) Greater than 50 horsepower but not more than 115 horsepower, the fee is $31 for operating on inland waters of the State and $21 for operating only on tidal waters of the State.
Sec. 3. 12 MRSA §13056, sub-§8, ¶B, as amended by PL 2005, c. 12, Pt. III, §38, is further amended to read:
B.  For a personal watercraft requiring or whose owner requests a certificate of number and watercraft equipped with a motor having a manufacturer's horsepower rating of 115 horsepower or greater, the fee is $39 for operating on inland waters of the State and $29 for operating only on tidal waters of the State.
Sec. 4. 12 MRSA §13058, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2005, c. 477, §25, is further amended to read:
1. Prohibition. A person exempt from the certificate of number requirement pursuant to section 13056, subsection 2, paragraph B may not place or operate a motorboat or personal watercraft on the inland waters of the State unless a valid lake and river protection sticker issued annually under subsection 3 is permanently affixed to each side of the bow above the water line and approximately 3 inches behind the validation sticker required under section 13056. This sticker is nontransferable.
Sec. 5. 12 MRSA §13058, sub-§3, as affected by PL 2003, c. 614, §9 and amended by c. 655, Pt. B, §364 and affected by §422, is further amended to read:
3. Nonresident lake and river protection sticker; fee. No later than January 1st of each year, the commissioner shall provide each agent authorized to register watercraft or issue licenses with a sufficient quantity of lake and river protection stickers for motorboats and personal watercraft not registered in the State for that boating season. The sticker must be in 2 parts so that one part of the sticker can be affixed to each side of the bow of a motorboat or personal watercraft not registered in the State. The fee for a sticker is $20 for a motorboat or personal watercraft not registered in the State and $10 for a motorboat or personal watercraft registered in the State. Each agent shall retain $1 for each sticker sold by that agent for which a fee is required. A motorboat or a personal watercraft owned by the Federal Government, a state government or a municipality is exempt from the fee established in this subsection.
Sec. 6. Appropriations and allocations. The following appropriations and allocations are made.
INLAND FISHERIES AND WILDLIFE, DEPARTMENT OF
Licensing Services - Inland Fisheries and Wildlife 0531
Initiative: Incorporating lake and river protection sticker fees into watercraft registration fees will result in Other Special Revenue Funds savings to the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. Beginning in fiscal year 2007-08, the estimated annual savings in printing and mailing costs will be $46,000.

OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS	2007-08	2008-09	
All Other	($46,000)	($46,000)	
			
OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS TOTAL	($46,000)	($46,000)	
Effective September 20, 2007