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Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and inserting the following:
‘Sec. 1.  22 MRSA c. 249  is enacted to read:
CHAPTER 249
MANAGEMENT OF HARMFUL PESTS
§ 791. Harmful pest management; identification
 
1.  Harmful pest identification.     The commissioner, in consultation with the State Entomologist, shall identify pests, such as insects and arachnids, including, but not limited to, browntail moths and ticks, that are prevalent in this State and pose a risk of significant harm to human health, referred to in this chapter as "harmful pests."
 
2.  Harmful pest management.     The commissioner, in consultation with the State Entomologist, may undertake measures determined appropriate by the commissioner to manage harmful pests, including the prevention of breeding of harmful pests. In undertaking management of harmful pests pursuant to this section, the commissioner may contract with an entity outside the department for these services, but any activities must be conducted using a combination of the lowest-risk, most effective, science-based management techniques and technology.
§ 792. Maine Harmful Pest Management Fund
 
1.  Fund established.     The Maine Harmful Pest Management Fund, referred to in this section as "the fund," is established to carry out the purposes of this chapter. The fund consists of any money received as contributions, grants or appropriations from private and public sources.
 
2.  Purposes.     The department may expend the money available in the fund to municipalities designated by the State Entomologist as being severely infested with harmful pests. A municipality may not receive more than $50,000 from the fund. A municipality provided funds under this subsection shall use:
 
A.  Fifty percent of the funding to mitigate infestation of residential properties in the municipality where persons with health conditions that can be exacerbated by the infestation reside and who are unable to pay for treatment of the infestation; and
 
B.  Fifty percent of the funding to mitigate infestation of publicly owned properties in the municipality.
 
3.  Administration.     The fund, to be accounted for within the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Public Health and Emergency Preparedness, must be held separate and apart from all other money, funds and accounts. Any balance remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year does not lapse but must be carried forward to the next fiscal year.
§ 793. Rules
The department shall adopt routine technical rules pursuant to Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A necessary to administer and enforce this chapter, including rules to establish the criteria for determining the severity of harmful pests and the threat to public health.
Sec. 2. Appropriations and allocations. The following appropriations and allocations are made.
 
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF
 
Maine Harmful Pest Management Fund N236
 
Initiative: Provides one-time funding to the Maine Harmful Pest Management Fund within the Department of Health and Human Services, Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Public Health and Emergency Preparedness to be used in mitigating infestations of harmful pests, such as browntail moth caterpillars and ticks.

GENERAL FUND	2019-20	2020-21	
All Other	$500,000	$0	
			
GENERAL FUND TOTAL	$500,000	$0	
 
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Amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or section number to read consecutively.
 
SUMMARY
This amendment, which is the minority report, requires the Commissioner of Health and Human Services instead of the Commissioner of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, in consultation with the State Entomologist, to identify pests, such as browntail moths and ticks, in this State that pose a risk of significant harm to human health, and to undertake measures to manage those pests. It also changes the percentage of funds used for mitigation of infestation in residential properties to be the same as is used for mitigation of infestation in publicly owned properties.
The amendment also establishes the Maine Harmful Pest Management Fund within the Department of Health and Human Services, Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Public Health and Emergency Preparedness to provide funds to municipalities severely infested with harmful pests, to be used in mitigating the infestations.
The amendment specifies that a municipality is required to use 50% of the funding, rather than 75 percent as proposed in the bill, to mitigate infestation of residential properties in the municipality where persons with health conditions that can be exacerbated by the infestation reside and who are unable to pay for treatment of the infestation. The amendment also specifies that a municipality is required to use the other 50% of the funding, rather than 25% as proposed in the bill, to mitigate infestation of publicly owned properties in the municipality.
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED
(See attached)