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Amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting the following:
‘An Act Concerning Swim Area Permits’
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and before the summary and inserting the following:
‘Sec. 1. 12 MRSA §1896, as amended by PL 2001, c. 693, §3 and affected by §11 and amended by PL 2011, c. 657, Pt. W, §7 and PL 2013, c. 405, Pt. A, §24, is further amended to read:
§ 1896.Boating Facilities Fund
There is created within the bureau the Boating Facilities Fund, referred to in this subchapter as the "fund." The fund, as funded under Title 36, section 2903-D, subsection 1, must be available to the director in carrying out the duties of the bureau under this subchapter. This fund is a continuous carrying account. The fund also receives fees collected under subchapter 10 and is available to the director in carrying out the duties specified under subchapter 10.
Sec. 2. 12 MRSA §1900, sub-§§3 to 5, as enacted by PL 2009, c. 312, §1, are amended to read:
 
3. Swim area prohibition.   A person may not establish or maintain a swim line or a developed swim area without a permit issued under subsection 4.
 
A.  A person who violates this subsection commits a civil violation for which a fine of not less than $100 or more than $500 may be adjudged. Each day a person violates this subsection is a separate violation.
 
B.  A person who violates this subsection after having been adjudicated as having committed 3 or more civil violations under this subchapter within the previous 5-year period commits a Class E crime.
 
4. Issuance of permit; revocation.   The director may issue a permit to establish and maintain a swim line or a developed swim area within the water safety zone only to a qualified entity to establish and maintain a developed swim area within the water safety zoneand only if the swim line or developed swim area is designed solely to provide recreational swimming opportunities for the public.
 
A.  If the director determines, after notice and an opportunity for hearing, that a swim line or developed swim area is being used for purposes other than to provide recreational swimming opportunities for the public, the director may revoke the permit.
 
B.  If the Commissioner of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife believes that a swim line or a developed swim area is being used for purposes other than to provide recreational swimming opportunities for the public and is interfering with boating or fishing, the commissioner shall notify the director and may request that the permit for the swim line or developed swim area be revoked pursuant to paragraph A.
 
The length of the area delineated by a swim line or of a developed swim area may not exceed 200 feet. The length of the developed swim area or of an area delineated by a swim line must be measured parallel to the shore.
 
5. Fee; expiration.   Permits issued under subsection 4 expire 5 years after the date of issuance. The director shall establish by rule a fee for the permits, except that a developed swim area established and operated by the State or a governmental entity or a recreational camp may not be charged a fee and its permit does not expire as long as no alterations to the developed swim area are made after the permit is issued. All revenues from fees must be deposited in the Boating Facilities Fund created under section 1896.’
 
SUMMARY
This amendment, which is the minority report, replaces the bill. This amendment modifies the swim area law as follows. It:
1. Provides that a swim line or developed swim area may not exceed 200 feet. The length of the developed swim area or of an area delineated by a swim line must be measured parallel to the shore;
2. Removes the special penalties for establishing a swim area without a permit. It leaves in place the general civil penalty applicable under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 12, section 1806;
3. Removes the permit fee exemptions for governmental entities and recreational camps and requires that all permits expire after 5 years;
4. Provides that permit fee revenues go into the Boating Facilities Fund and may be used in administering the swim area law; and
5. Provides that a permit for a swim line or a developed swim area may be issued only if the swim line or developed swim area is designed solely to provide recreational swimming opportunities for the public. If the director determines, after notice and opportunity for hearing, that a swim line or a developed swim area is being used for purposes other than to provide recreational swimming opportunities for the public, the director may revoke the permit.
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED
(See attached)