An Act To Change the Options for a Lobster Management Zone and To Change Entry Criteria for Noncommercial Licensees LR0506(03)
Maine Legislature, Session 121, LD 0703
Committee Amendment CA_A_H375 (House)
Amends: 12 MRSA §6421, 12 MRSA §6446, 12 MRSA §6447

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "ft, to H.P. 520, L.D. 703, Bill, "An 
Act To Change the Options for a Lobster Management Zone and To 
Change Entry Criteria for Noncommercial Licensees" 
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting 
clause and before the summary and inserting in its place the 
following: 
'Sec. 1. 12 MRSA §6421, sub-§3-A, tF, as enacted by PL 1995, 
c. 568, §1, is amended to read: 
F. 
A 
noncommercial 
lobster 
and 
crab 
fishing 
license 
authorizes the license holder to engage in the licensed 
activities 
under 
subsection 
2-A. 
A 
person 
issued 
a 
noncommercial 
lobster 
and 
crab fishing 
license 
may 
not 
submerge at anyone time more than 5 lobster traps in the 
coastal waters of the State. 
At the time a noncommercial 
lobster and crab fishing license is issued or renewed, the 
applicant or license holder shall declare the vessel that 
will be used to conduct lobster and crab fishing activities 
under that license. 
The license holder's trap tags are 
allocated to that vessel, pursuant to the license. 
The 
department 
is 
not 
authorized 
to 
issue 
more 
than 
noncommercial trap tags to the declared yessel, regardless 
of the number of noncommercial license holders fishing from 
that vessel. 
Sec. 2. 12 MRSA §6446, sub-§l-A, as enacted by PL 1999, c. 
508, §1, is amended to read: 
I-A. Declared lobster zone. 
A person shall declare on an 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
, 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 'J1" to H.P. 520, L.D. 703 
application 
for 
a 
Class 
I, 
Class 
II 
91'.L 
Class 
noncommercial 
lobster 
and 
crab 
fishing 
license 
the 
management zone in which that person proposes to fish a 
of that person's lobster traps. 
A license must identify 
in which the person is authorized to fish a majority 
person's lobster traps. 
Sec.3. 12 MRSA §6446, sub-§2-B is enacted to read: 
III 
or 
lobster 
majority 
the zone 
of that 
2-B. 
Rules pursuant to section 6447, subsection 5-B. 
The 
commissioner 
may 
adopt 
rules 
for 
a 
zone 
established 
under 
subsection 
that 
are 
proposed 
pursuant 
to 
section 
6447, 
subsection 5-8 only when the rules were proposed by the lobster 
management policy council established for that zone pursuant to 
section 6447, subsection 1 and the proposed rules were approved 
in a 
referendum pursuant to section 6447, 
subsection 6. 
The 
commissioner 
may 
accept 
the 
rules 
proposed 
by 
a 
lobster 
management policy council as reasonable and adopt those rules or 
reject the council's proposed rules as unreasonable. 
The rules 
adopted under this subsection by the commissioner must accurately 
reflect the intent of the rules proposed by a lobster management 
policy council but are not required to be a verbatim rendition of 
the proposed rules. 
This subsection is repealed June 1, 2006. 
Sec. 4. 12 MRSA §6447, sub-§5-B is enacted to read: 
5-B. 
Zone E council authority. 
Notwithstanding any other 
prov1s1on in this subchapter, upon approval in a referendum under 
subsection 6, a lobster management policy council for Zone E as 
defined in rules adopted by the department may propose to the 
commissioner rules for Zone E that do any or all of the following: 
A. 
Increase the 
length of 
time 
an apprentice must be 
enrolled in the apprentice program up to a maximum of 5 
years. 
A proposal to increase the length of enrollment does 
not apply to apprentices enrolled in the program at the time 
that proposal takes effect: 
8. 
Require a sponsor of an apprentice to have held a Class 
I, Class II or Class III lobster and crab fishing license 
for at least 5 years: or 
C. 
Require that an apprentice may enter Zone E only if the 
apprentice apprenticed in Zone E. 
This subsection is repealed June 1, 2006. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "if:' to H.P. 520, L.D. 703 
Sec. 5. Effective date. 
Those sections of this Act that amend 
the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 12, section 6421, subsection 
3-A, paragraph F and section 6446, subsection I-A take effect 
January 1, 2004.' 
SUMMARY 
This 
amendment 
replaces 
the bill and 
requires that the 
holder of or applicant for 
a 
noncommercial lobster and crab 
fishing license declare both the lobster management zone in which 
that person will fish and the vessel that will be used to conduct 
fishing operations. 
It limits the number of noncommercial traps 
that can be fished from a vessel to 10, regardless of the number 
of noncommercial license holders that fish from that vessel. 
The 
bill also expands the authority of the Zone E lobster management 
policy council and repeals that expanded authority on June 1, 
2006. 
FISCAL :\OTF REQlIRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Net Cost (Savings) 
General Fund 
Revenue 
General Fund 
Other Special Revenue Funds 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
Approved: 05109/03 ~ac 
Office of Fiscal and Program Review 
LD703 
An Act To Change the Options for a Lobster Management Zone and To 
Change Entry Criteria for Noncommercial Licensees 
LR0506(03) 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment" " 
Committee: Marine Resources 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
2003-04 
$16,400 
($16,400) 
($2,000) 
2004-05 
$32,800 
($32,800) 
($4,000) 
Projections 
2005-06 
$49,200 
($49,200) 
($6,000) 
Projections 
2006-07 
$65,600 
($65,600) 
($8,000) 
Capping the number of noncommercial lobster and crab licenses that can be issued will decrease General Fund 
revenues collected by the Department of Marine Resources by $16,400 and $32,980 in fiscal years 2003-04 and 2004-
05, respectively. In addition, these same actions will also decrease Other Special Revenue funds revenue collected by 
the department by $2,000 and $4,000 in fiscal years 2003-04 and 2004-05, respectively. 
LR0506(3) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1