An Act To
Maine Legislature, Session 123, LD 1074
Committee Amendment CA_A_H166 (House)
Amends: 7 MRSA §748, 7 MRSA §750, 7 MRSA §751

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A " to H.P. 792, L.D. 1074, Bill, "An Act To 
Amend the Maine Commercial Fertilizer Law" 
Amend the bill in section 5 in subsection 3 in the next to the last line (page 2, line 21 
in L.D.) by striking out the following: "fertilizer the" and inserting the following: 
'fertilizer the' 
Amend the bill by inserting after section 5 the following: 
'Sec. 6. 7 MRSA §748, sub-§3 is enacted to read: 
3. 
Establishment of allowances. 
The commissioner shall establish by rule 
allowances for deviations from the guaranteed analysis for plant nutrients and from the 
overall index value of a fertilizer. Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine 
technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.' 
Amend the bill by striking out all of section 6 and inserting the following: 
'Sec. 6. 7 MRSA §750, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 452, Pt. B, § 11 and 
affected by Pt. X, §2, is amended to read: 
2. Penalty. The following penalties apply to violations of this section. 
A. 
A person who violates subsection 1 commits a civil violation for which a fine of 
not more than $-lOO $500 may be adjudged. 
B. 
A person who violates subsection 1 after having previously violated subsection I 
commits a civil violation for which a fine of not more than ~ 
$1,000 may be 
adjudged. 
Sec. 7. 7 MRSA §751 is enacted to read: 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A .. to H.P. 792, L.D. 1074 
§751. Assessments for deficiencies 
In addition to any fine adjudged under section 750, an assessment for deficiencies in 
a fertilizer must be made in accordance with this section. For the purposes of this section, 
a deficiency occurs when an investigational analysis determines that the allowances 
established in rules adopted under section 748, subsection 3 have been exceeded. 
1. 
Primary plant nutrients; overall index. 
An assessment of 2 times the 
commercial value of the deficiency or deficiencies as determined under subsection 3 must 
be made if: 
A. 
The analysis determines that a fertilizer is deficient in one or more of its 
guaranteed primary plant nutrients; or 
B. The analysis determines that the overall index value is deficient. 
When a fertilizer is subject to an assessment under both paragraphs A and B, the larger 
assessment applies. 
2. Other deficiencies. When a fertilizer is labeled to guarantee or a bulk fertilizer is 
accompanied by a statement guaranteeing that the fertilizer contains recognized plant 
nutrients other than nitrogen, available phosphate or soluble potash, the commissioner 
may evaluate the fertilizer and prescribe an assessment for deficiencies in any of the 
claimed nutrients based on commercial values determined under subsection 3. 
3. 
Determination of commercial value. 
For the purpose of determining the 
commercial value of fertilizer, the commissioner shall use the amount originally invoiced 
to the consumer per unit of nitrogen, available phosphate, soluble potash or other 
nutrients that the registrant is required to or may guarantee. The values derived from the 
invoice must be used in determining and the assessment. 
4. Payment to consumer; commissioner. Assessments made under subsections 1 
and 2 must be paid by the registrant to the consumer of the lot of fertilizer represented by 
the sample analyzed. The commissioner shall send notification of the amount of the 
assessment with the results of the analysis sent in accordance with section 745. 
Assessments must be made within 30 days of the date of the notification. If the consumer 
cannot be located, the registrant shall submit the assessment to the commissioner for 
deposit in the commercial fertilizer account under subsection 5. 
5. Commercial fertilizer account. The commissioner shall deposit all assessments 
submitted to the commissioner in accordance with subsection 4 in a dedicated account 
established within the department. The account is a nonlapsing interest-bearing account. 
Funds from the account may only be used to pay costs of sampling and analyzing 
fertilizer. ' 
Amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or 
section number to read consecutively. 
SUMMARY 
This amendment makes technical changes to the bill to clarify the process for making 
assessments to consumers when analysis of fertilizers indicates there is a deficiency in 
one or more nutrients. It also provides for assessments received by the Commissioner of 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT .. A 
.. to H.P. 792, L.D. 1074 
Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources to be deposited in a dedicated account and used to 
pay costs for sampling and analyzing fertilizers. 
FISCAL ~OTE REQURED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Approved: 04/27/07 ft:Pac;. 
LD 1074 
LR 661(02) 
An Act To Amend the Maine Commercial Fertilizer Law 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment ,A " 
Committee: Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
Minor cost increase - General Fund 
Minor revenue increase - General Fund 
Minor cost increase - Other Special Revenue Funds 
Minor revenue increase - Other Special Revenue Funds 
Correctional and Judicial Impact Statements 
Increases penalties for certain civil violations. 
The collection of additional fines may also increase General Fund revenue by minor amounts. 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
The establishment of certain assessments pertaining to commercial fertilizers is likely to result in minor amounts of 
additional dedicated revenue collected by the Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources with a 
concomitant minor increase in expenditures. 
LR066 1 (02) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1