An Act To Remove the Ethics Course Requirement for First Hunting and Fishing Violations and Require the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife To Hold the Courses in a Location Within 100 Miles of All Citizens of the State
Maine Legislature, Session 122, LD 0512
Committee: Inland Fisheries and Wildlife
Sponsors: JACKSON, MARTIN, LUNDEEN, RICHARDSON, WHEELER
Amends: 12 MRSA §10903

Legislative Document 
No. 512 
H.P.388 
House of Representatives, February 1,2005 
An Act To Remove the Ethics Course Requirement for First 
Hunting and Fishing Violations and Require the Department of 
Inland Fisheries and Wildlife To Hold the Courses in a Location 
Within 100 Miles of All Citizens of the State 
Reference to the Committee on Inland Fisheries and Wildlife suggested and ordered 
printed. 
Presented by Representative JACKSON of Fort Kent. 
Cosponsored by Senator MARTIN of Aroostook and 
'17/~/J7.~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Representatives: LUNDEEN of Mars Hill, RICHARDSON of Greenville, WHEELER of 
Kittery. 
Priored 00 recycled .-
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 12 MRSA §10903, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 414, Pt. 
A, §2 and affected by c. 614, §9, is further amended to read: 
§I0903. Effective date for suspensions 
1. 
For mandatory suspension. 
For 
a violation having 
a 
minimum statutory suspension period, 
a suspension is effective 
upon conviction or adjudication and 
the 
license holder 
must 
surrender the license 
immediately to the 
commissioner. 
That 
person is not entitled to a hearing under section 10905 if the 
suspension 
period 
does 
not 
exceed 
the 
minimum 
period 
of 
suspension required by law. 
In addition to any suspension period 
ordered by the commissioner, a person whose license is suspended 
for a 2nd or subsequent violation having a mandatory suspension 
must successfully complete an outdoor ethics course conducted or 
e·ndorsed by the department prior to being eligible to have that 
license reinstated. 
2. 
For all other suspensions. 
For a violation that does 
not have a minimum statutory suspension period, a suspension is 
effective 
upon 
written 
notification 
of 
suspension 
by 
the 
commissioner. 
That person must surrender that license to the 
commissioner 
upon 
receipt of 
a 
notice of 
suspension 
and is 
entitled to 
a hearing under section 10905. 
The 
commissioner 
shall adopt rules specifying the conditions under which a person 
whose license is suspended for a 2nd or subsequent violation that 
does not carry a mandatory suspension is required to complete an 
outdoor ethics course. 
Rules adopted under this subsection are 
major substantive rules as defined in Title 5, 
chapter 
375, 
subchapter 2-A. 
Outdoor ethics courses must be scheduled by the Bureau of 
Warden Service aBeL must be given whenever there are 10 or more 
persons needing or wanting to take the course and must be within 
miles of the residence of a person taking the course. 
The 
fee for an outdoor ethics course is $100, payable 10 working days 
prior to the start of the course. 
All fees collected under this 
section are allocated to the Sport Hunter Program established in 
section 10108, subsection 4, paragraph B. 
SUMMARY 
This bill amends the law that requires a person who commits 
a hunting or fishing violation to take an outdoor ethics course 
to apply to a 2nd or subsequent violation and not to a first 
violation. 
This bill also requires the Department of Inland 
Fisheries and Wildlife, the Bureau of Warden Service to schedule 
any courses within 100 miles of the residence of a person taking 
the course. 
Page l-LR0463 (1)