PLEASE NOTE: Legislative Information cannot perform research, provide legal advice, or interpret Maine law. For legal assistance, please contact a qualified attorney.
Amend the amendment in Part A by inserting before section 1 the following:
‘Sec. A-1. 12 MRSA §685-F, sub-§3, as enacted by PL 2005, c. 107, §2 and affected by §4, is amended to read:
 
3. Accounting system. The director shall require that all staff involved in any aspect of an application review for a project designated as an extraordinary project keep accurate and regular daily time records. These records must describe the matters worked on, services performed and amount of time devoted to those matters and services as well as amounts of money expended in performing those functions. The director shall keep records of all expenses incurred in reviewing a project, including staff time records and, billing statements for contracted services and billing statements from other state agencies for the actual cost of review.’
Amend the amendment in Part A by inserting after section 6 the following:
‘Sec. A-7. 38 MRSA §352, sub-§3, as amended by PL 2009, c. 160, §1, is further amended to read:
 
3. Maximum fee. The commissioner shall set the actual fees and shall publish a schedule of all fees by November 1st of each year. If the commissioner determines that a particular application, by virtue of its size, uniqueness, complexity or other relevant factors, is likely to require significantly more costs than those listed on Table I, the commissioner may designate that application as subject to special fees. Such a designation must be made at, or prior to, the time the application is accepted as complete and may not be based solely on the likelihood of extensive public controversy. The maximum fee for processing an application may not exceed $250,000. All department staff of the department, the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, the Department of Conservation, the Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources and the Department of Marine Resources who have worked on the review of the application, including, but not limited to, preapplication consultations, shall submit quarterly reports to the commissioner detailing the time spent on the application and all expenses attributable to the application, including the costs of any appeals filed by the applicant and, after taking into consideration the interest of fairness and equity, any other appeals if the commissioner finds it in the public interest to do so. The costs associated with assistance to the board on an appeal before the board may be separately charged. The processing fee for that application must be the actual cost to the department, the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, the Department of Conservation, the Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources and the Department of Marine Resources. The applicant must be billed quarterly and all fees paid prior to receipt of the permit. Nothing in this section limits the commissioner's authority to enter into an agreement with an applicant for payment of costs in excess of the maximum fee established in this subsection.’
Amend the amendment by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or section number to read consecutively.
 
SUMMARY
This amendment provides that the director of the Maine Land Use Regulation Commission shall keep billing statements from other state agencies for the actual cost of review of an application.
The amendment requires that staff of the Department of Environmental Protection, the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, the Department of Conservation, the Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources and the Department of Marine Resources submit quarterly reports to the Commissioner of Environmental Protection detailing the time spent on an application that is subject to special fees. The amendment also requires that the processing fee for an application be equal to the actual cost to the Department of Environmental Protection, the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, the Department of Conservation, the Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources and the Department of Marine Resources.
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED
(See attached)