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An Act To Better Understand and Control Invasive Aquatic Plants and Nuisance Species
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 12 MRSA §10206, sub-§6, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 414, Pt. A, §2 and affected by c. 614, §9, is amended to read:
 
6. Lake and river protection sticker revenues.   All fees collected by the commissioner from the sale of stickers under section 13058, subsectionsubsections 3 and 4 must be paid daily to the Treasurer of State. Notwithstanding subsection 3, the Treasurer of State shall credit funds received under this subsection as follows:
 
A.  Sixty percent of the revenues must be credited to the Invasive Aquatic Plant and Nuisance Species Fund established in the Department of Environmental Protection under Title 38, section 1863; and
 
B.  Forty percent of the revenues must be credited to the Lake and River Protection Fund established in the department under section 10257.
Sec. 2. 12 MRSA §13058, sub-§3, as repealed and replaced by PL 2013, c. 580, §3, is amended to read:
 
3. Nonresident motorboat and personal watercraft lake and river protection sticker and resident and nonresident seaplane lake and river protection sticker; fee.   No later than January 1st of each year, the commissioner shall provide the agents 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 and for all seaplanes, whether or 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 or to each outside edge of a seaplane's pontoons. TheExcept as provided in subsection 4, the fee for a sticker issued under this subsection is $20, $1 of which is retained by the agent who sold the sticker.
 
The remainder of the fee is disposed as follows:
 
A. Eighty percent 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
 
B. Twenty percent must be credited to the Lake and River Protection Fund established within the department under section 10257.
 
A motorboat, personal watercraft or seaplane owned by the Federal Government, a state government or a municipality is exempt from the fee established in this subsection or in subsection 4.
Sec. 3.  12 MRSA §13058, sub-§4  is enacted to read:
 
4.  Temporary fee increase.     Beginning January 1, 2018 and ending December 31, 2018, the fee for a sticker issued under subsection 3 is $21, $1 of which is retained by the agent who sold the sticker. The remainder of the fee is disposed of in accordance with the percentages in subsection 3. This subsection is repealed December 31, 2018.
Sec. 4. Study to better understand and control invasive aquatic plants and nuisance species. The Commissioner of Environmental Protection and the Commissioner of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, in cooperation with the Interagency Task Force on Invasive Aquatic Plants and Nuisance Species established under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 38, section 1871, jointly shall facilitate a study of the State's efforts to prevent the infestation of, to control, to eradicate and to otherwise manage invasive aquatic plants and nuisance species in the waters of the State through the program implemented under Title 38, chapter 20-A. The study must, at a minimum:
1. Evaluate the effectiveness of the program in addressing issues relating to invasive aquatic plants and nuisance species;
2. Identify areas in which the program could be improved to more effectively address issues relating to invasive aquatic plants and nuisance species in the State;
3. Review the financial and operational needs of the program and identify all funding sources and other resources available to the program; and
4. Based on the financial and operational needs of and resources currently available to the program, determine the additional amount of funding, if any, necessary to ensure the long-term viability and success of the program as well as any recommendations for acquiring that additional amount of funding, including, but not limited to:
A. Temporarily or permanently increasing existing watercraft registration or other sticker fees imposed under Title 12, chapter 935; and
B. Imposing new registration or other sticker fees on nonmotorized watercraft.
The Commissioner of Environmental Protection and the Commissioner of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife jointly may agree to contract with a 3rd-party entity to conduct the study described under this section. Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary in Title 12, section 10257 or Title 38, section 1863, the Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife may cover the actual costs to each agency of conducting or contracting for the study described under this section with the fee revenues collected and deposited into the Invasive Aquatic Plant and Nuisance Species Fund and the Lake and River Protection Fund pursuant to Title 12, section 13058, subsections 3 and 4.
Sec. 5. Report to Legislature; authority to report out bill. On or before January 15, 2018, the Commissioner of Environmental Protection and the Commissioner of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife jointly shall submit to the Joint Standing Committee on Environment and Natural Resources and the Joint Standing Committee on Inland Fisheries and Wildlife a report detailing the findings and recommendations of the study conducted under section 4, including any draft legislation, relating to the program to prevent the infestation of, to control, to eradicate and to otherwise manage invasive aquatic plants and nuisance species in the waters of the State implemented under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 38, chapter 20-A. The Joint Standing Committee on Environment and Natural Resources may, in consultation with the Joint Standing Committee on Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, report out a bill relating to the report to the Second Regular Session of the 128th Legislature.
 
SUMMARY
This bill temporarily increases by $1 the annual fee for the lake and river protection sticker required under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 12, section 13058. The additional revenue from this increased fee may be used to fund a study of the State’s efforts to prevent the infestation of, to control, to eradicate and to otherwise manage invasive aquatic plants and nuisance species in the waters of the State through the program implemented under Title 38, chapter 20-A. The bill directs the Commissioner of Environmental Protection and the Commissioner of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, in cooperation with the Interagency Task Force on Invasive Aquatic Plants and Nuisance Species, to facilitate this study, which must, among other things, identify the additional amount of funding, if any, necessary to ensure the long-term viability and success of the statutory program as well as recommendations for acquiring that additional amount of funding.
On or before January 15, 2018, the Commissioner of Environmental Protection and the Commissioner of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife jointly are required to submit a report to the Joint Standing Committee on Environment and Natural Resources and the Joint Standing Committee on Inland Fisheries and Wildlife detailing the findings and recommendations of the study, including any draft legislation, and the Joint Standing Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, in consultation with the Joint Standing Committee on Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, may report out a bill relating to the report to the Second Regular Session of the 128th Legislature.