An Act To Establish the Commercial Fishing Safety C()uncil
Maine Legislature, Session 121, LD 1440
Committee: Marine Resources
Sponsors: DAMON
Amends: 5 MRSA §12

Legislative Document 
No. 1440 
S.P.478 
In Senate, March 26, 2003 
An Act To Establish the Commercial Fishing Safety C()uncil 
Submitted by the Department of Marine Resources pursuant to Joint Rule 204. 
Reference to the Committee on Marine Resources suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Senator DAMON of Hancock. 
Printed on recycled paper 
JOY J. O'BRIEN 
Secretary of the Senate 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 5 MRSA §12ot4-1, sub-§57-E is enacted to read: 
51-E. 
Marine 
Resources 
Commercial 
Fishing 
Safety 
MRSA 
~ 
Council 
Sec. 2. 12 MRSA §§6034 and 6035 are enacted to read: 
§6034. Commercial Fishing Safety Council 
1. Appointment: composition. 
The Commercial Fishing Safety 
CounciL 
referred 
to 
in this 
section 
as 
"the 
council" 
and 
estaJ;llished 
by 
Title 
5, 
section 
12004-1, 
subsection 
-E, 
consists of 17 members, 15 of whom are appointed by the Governor 
and subject to confirmation by the Legislature as follows: 
A. 
One member who is a license holder under this Part and a 
member of the Lobster Advisory Council, recommended by the 
chair of the Lobster Advisory Council: 
B. 
One member who is a license holder under this Part and a 
member of the Marine Resources Advisory Council, recommended 
by the chair of the Marine Resources Advisory Council: 
C. 
One member who is a license holder under this Part and a 
member of the Sea Urchin Zone Council, 
recommemded by the 
chair of the Sea Urchin Zone Council: 
D. 
Five members who are license holders under t.his Part and 
who each represent a different commercial marine harvesting 
activity than the other members of the council, recommended 
by commercial marine harvesting and a~uaculture interests; 
E. 
An 
educator 
experienced 
in 
community-based 
adul t 
education and volunteer safety training: 
F. 
An 
expert 
in 
fishing 
industry 
risk 
analysis 
and 
occupational health: 
G. 
An expert in marine safety e~uipment; 
H. 
A representative of the marine insurance industry: 
I. 
A marine surveyor: 
J. 
A spouse or domestic partner of a license holder under 
this Part;, and 
Page l-LR1903(1) 
K. 
A member of the public. 
The chair of the Marine Resources Advisory Council and the chair 
of 
the 
Marine 
Recreational 
Fishing Advisory 
Council 
are 
ex 
officio members of the council. 
The composition of the council 
must reflect a geographic distribution along the coast of the 
State. 
The council may invite to carry out the duties of the 
council 
other 
participants 
on 
an 
ad 
hoc 
basis, 
including 
representatives 
of 
private 
or 
governmental 
organizations 
or 
individuals with expertise or interest in marine, 
education, 
labor or health matters. 
2. 
Term. 
The term of an appointed member is 
years, 
except 
a 
vacancy of 
a 
member 
before 
the expiration of 
the 
member's term must be filled in the same manner as the original 
member 
for 
the unexpired portion of the member's 
term. 
An 
appointed member may not serve more than 2 consecutive terms. 
3. Officers. The officers of the council are the chair, 
vice-chair and secretary. 
The term of the officers is one year. 
The 
Governor 
shall appoint the first chair of 
the 
council. 
Except for the appointment of the original chair, the council 
shall elect a member of the council for each officer position at 
the first regular meeting of each year. 
The officers have the 
following duties: 
A. 
The chair shall call and preside at council meetings; 
B. 
The 
vice-chair 
shall 
call 
and 
preside 
at 
council 
meetings when the chair is absent; and 
C. 
The secretary shall record all meetings of the council 
and preserve these records. 
4. 
Meetings. 
The 
council 
shall 
hold 
regular quarterly 
meetings and may hold special meetings with the conunissioner or 
the 
conunissioner's 
designee. 
A 
member 
of 
the 
council 
may 
participate and is deemed present at a meeting of the councilor 
of a subcommittee of the council by telephone, electronically or 
by any other means by which all members participating in the 
meeting are able to communicate with each other. 
The council 
shall ensure adequate facilities for full attendance at council 
meetings by the public. 
5. Quorum. 
A majority of the current members of the council 
present constitutes a quorum. 
6. Council actions. 
The council may act in the following 
ways: 
A. 
If 
a 
quorum is present, 
in person or pursuant to 
subsection 4, by a majority vote of the members: present or 
polled: or 
B. 
If there is no meeting, by written poll of a quorum of 
members responding. 
7. Duties. 
The council shall carry out duties specifically 
delegated to the council by law or by the commissioner and give 
the commissioner information and advice concerning fishing safety 
issues, including: 
A. 
Minimum 
safety 
equipment, 
training 
and 
operational 
standards: 
B. 
Community-based 
education 
programs 
that 
provide 
practical 
safety 
training 
and 
fisheries-specific 
safety 
training; 
C. 
An outreach program to promote the culture of safety; 
D. 
Opportunities to minimize the costs and seek alternative 
funding sources, fees, incentives, grants or partnerships to 
minimize the financial impact of safety requirements: and 
E. 
The commercial safety fishing plan that the commissioner 
submits to the council pursuant to section 
603~) and report 
to 
the 
Legislature 
concerning 
that 
plan 
12ursuant 
to 
subsection 8. 
8. ReRQrt. 
No later than January 15th of each year, the 
council shall report to the joint standing committee of the 
Legislature having jurisdiction over marine resources matters 
with regard to measures required to implement the commercial 
safety fishing plan that the commissioner submits to the council 
pursuant to section 6035. 
The committee is authorized to report 
out any necessary legislation regarding the council's report. 
§6035. Commercial safety fishing plan 
No later than November 15th of each year, the commissioner 
shall submit a commercial safety fishing plan to the Commercial 
Fishing Safety Council that includes the department's fishing 
safety initiatives, the progress in implementing those fishing 
safety initiatives, any revisions to those initiatives or their 
implementation and any new initiatives for the Commercial Fishing 
Safety Council to consider. 
SUMMARY 
The bill establishes the Commercial Fishing Safety Council 
as an advisory body to the Commissioner of Marine Resources.