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An Act To Provide Training for Forest Rangers To Carry Firearms
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 12 MRSA §8901, sub-§1, ¶A, as amended by PL 2017, c. 284, Pt. SS, §1, is further amended to read:
 
A. The forest protection unit of the Bureau of Forestry shall employ no fewer than 45 and no more than 50 forest rangers classified as Forest Ranger II to serve as wildfire control specialists and forestry law enforcement officers, and no fewer than 16 forest rangers classified as follows: 3 Regional Rangers, 8 District Rangers, one Forest Fire Prevention Specialist, one Ranger Pilot Supervisor and 3 Ranger Pilots. Each forest ranger and the state supervisor of the forest protection unit of the Bureau of Forestry within the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry must, at a minimum, be a graduate of the Maine Criminal Justice Academy's law enforcement preservice program or equivalentmeet the training requirements of Title 25, section 2804-L.
Sec. 2. 25 MRSA §2801-B, sub-§1, ¶C, as amended by PL 2015, c. 267, Pt. CC, §1, is further amended to read:
 
C. An agent or a representative of the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, Bureau of Forestry whose law enforcement powers are limited to those specified byThe state supervisor of the forest protection unit of the Bureau of Forestry within the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry or a forest ranger appointed under Title 12, section 8901, subsection 3 and who does not carry a firearm;
Sec. 3.  25 MRSA §2803-A, sub-§8-D  is enacted to read:
 
8-D.  Training of forest rangers.     To establish certification standards and a training program for the state supervisor of the forest protection unit of the Bureau of Forestry within the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry and forest rangers appointed under Title 12, section 8901. This program must include:
 
A.  Preservice law enforcement training under section 2804-B;
 
B.  An additional basic forest ranger training program developed by the state supervisor of the forest protection unit of the Bureau of Forestry within the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry and approved by the board that is specific to the duties of a forest ranger;
 
C.  In-service law enforcement training that is specifically approved by the board as prescribed in section 2804-E; and
 
D.  A firearms training program equivalent to a firearms training program of a full-time law enforcement officer trained at the Maine Criminal Justice Academy that is developed and approved by the board.
 
Forest rangers are exempt from section 2804-C, but completion of basic training under section 2804-C exempts a person from the preservice training requirement under paragraph A;
Sec. 4.  25 MRSA §2804-L  is enacted to read:
§ 2804-L. Law enforcement training for forest rangers
Beginning July 1, 2019, all forest rangers and the state supervisor of the forest protection unit of the Bureau of Forestry within the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry must successfully complete the training requirements established under section 2803-A, subsection 8-D.
Sec. 5. Appropriations and allocations. The following appropriations and allocations are made.
 
AGRICULTURE, CONSERVATION AND FORESTRY, DEPARTMENT OF
 
Division of Forest Protection Z232
 
Initiative: Provides appropriations for the purchase of firearms, ammunition, holsters and lockboxes, and for training and overtime staffing costs associated with a firearms training program for forest rangers.

GENERAL FUND	2017-18	2018-19	
Personal Services	$0	$25,065	
All Other	$0	$71,872	
			
GENERAL FUND TOTAL	$0	$96,937	

Forest Health and Monitoring Z233
 
Initiative: Provides appropriations for the purchase of firearms, ammunition, holsters and lockboxes, and for training and overtime staffing costs associated with a firearms training program for forest rangers.

GENERAL FUND	2017-18	2018-19	
Personal Services	$0	$10,238	
All Other	$0	$29,356	
			
GENERAL FUND TOTAL	$0	$39,594	

AGRICULTURE, CONSERVATION AND FORESTRY, DEPARTMENT OF			
DEPARTMENT TOTALS	2017-18	2018-19	
			
GENERAL FUND	$0	$136,531	
			
DEPARTMENT TOTAL - ALL FUNDS	$0	$136,531	

Effective 90 days following adjournment of the 128th Legislature, Second Special Session, unless otherwise indicated.