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An Act To Continue the Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 12 MRSA §6455, sub-§5-A, ¶D, as amended by PL 2013, c. 492, §5, is further amended to read:
 
D. For the years 2016 to 20182020 the surcharges are, for:
 
(1) Class I lobster and crab fishing licenses for persons 18 to 69 years of age, $165.25;
 
(2) Class II lobster and crab fishing licenses, $330.50, except that for license holders 70 years of age or older the surcharge is $165;
 
(3) Class III lobster and crab fishing licenses, $480.75, except that for license holders 70 years of age or older the surcharge is $240;
 
(4) Nonresident lobster and crab landing permits, $480.75;
 
(5) Wholesale seafood licenses with lobster permits if the license holders hold no supplemental wholesale seafood licenses with lobster permits, or lobster transportation licenses if the license holders hold no supplemental lobster transportation licenses, $1,200;
 
(6) Supplemental wholesale seafood licenses with lobster permits or supplemental lobster transportation licenses as follows:
 
(a) One thousand eight hundred dollars for up to 2 supplemental wholesale seafood licenses with lobster permits or supplemental lobster transportation licenses;
 
(b) Two thousand four hundred dollars for 3 to 5 supplemental wholesale seafood licenses with lobster permits or supplemental lobster transportation licenses; and
 
(c) Three thousand dollars for 6 or more supplemental wholesale seafood licenses with lobster permits or supplemental lobster transportation licenses; and
 
(7) Lobster processor licenses, $1,000 if less than 1,000,000 pounds of raw product is processed, and $4,000 if 1,000,000 pounds or more of raw product is processed.
Sec. 2. 12 MRSA §6455, sub-§8, as enacted by PL 2013, c. 309, §2, is repealed.
Sec. 3. 12 MRSA §6455, last ¶, as enacted by PL 2013, c. 309, §2, is repealed.
 
SUMMARY
This bill is reported out by the Joint Standing Committee on Marine Resources pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 12, section 6455, subsection 8. The bill removes the October 1, 2018 repeal of the section of law that establishes the Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative and that sets the surcharges on various types of licenses to fund the collaborative. The bill continues through 2020 the surcharges that have been in place since 2016.
The committee has not taken a position on the substance of this bill. By reporting this bill out, the committee is not suggesting and does not intend to suggest that it agrees or disagrees with any aspect of this bill. The committee is reporting the bill out for the sole purpose of having a bill printed that can be referred to the committee for an appropriate public hearing and subsequent processing in the normal course. The committee is taking this action to ensure clarity and transparency in the legislative review of the proposals contained in the bill.