An Act To Protect the Public from Mosquito-borne Diseases
Maine Legislature, Session 126, LD 1808
Committee: Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry

Legislative Document 
No. 1808 
H.P. 1299 
House of Representatives, March 11, 2014 
An Act To Protect the Public from Mosquito-borne Diseases 
Reported by Representative DILL of Old Town for the Joint Standing Committee on 
Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry pursuant to Resolve 2013, chapter 13, section 2. 
Reference to the Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry suggested and 
ordered printed pursuant to Joint Rule 218. 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  7 MRSA c. 6-A is enacted to read: 
CHAPTER 6-A 
MANAGEMENT OF MOSQUITOES 
§171.  Management of mosquitoes for protection of public health; state policy 
It is the policy of the State to work to find and implement ways to prevent mosquito-
borne diseases in a manner that minimizes risks to humans and the environment. The 
State, led by the department and the Department of Health and Human Services pursuant 
to this chapter and Title 22, chapter 257-B, respectively, shall monitor mosquito-borne 
diseases and shall base mosquito management methods, including potential pesticide use, 
on an evaluation of the most current risk assessments.  On a continuing basis, the State 
shall research and evaluate means of reducing disease-carrying mosquitoes without the 
use of pesticides. When the Department of Health and Human Services determines that 
the disease risk is high and public education efforts are insufficient to adequately prevent 
mosquito-borne diseases in the State, the Department of Health and Human Services may 
declare a mosquito-borne disease public health threat pursuant to Title 22, chapter 257-B 
and the State may undertake emergency activities to reduce disease-carrying mosquito 
populations that threaten the health of residents of this State. The State in undertaking 
emergency activities shall use a combination of the lowest risk, most effective integrated 
pest management techniques and science-based technology and shall consult with 
officials from affected municipalities in determining the most appropriate combination of 
response strategies. 
§172.  Department lead agency; powers of commissioner 
1.  Lead agency.  The department is the lead agency of the State for carrying out 
mosquito management activities as described in this chapter. 
2.  Management methods.  The commissioner may use appropriate methods for the 
management of mosquitoes and the prevention of their breeding in a manner consistent 
with section 171, including, but not limited to, conducting or contracting for mosquito 
management activities and purchasing equipment necessary for the purposes of carrying 
out this chapter. 
§173.  Duties of commissioner 
1.  Study; plan; arrange cooperation.  When sufficient money for such purposes is 
available in the fund, the commissioner, in cooperation with appropriate personnel from 
the Department of Health and Human Services, shall: 
A.  Consider and study mosquito management problems, including mosquito 
surveillance; 
B.  Identify means of managing disease-carrying mosquitoes in a manner that 
minimizes pesticide use; 
C.  Coordinate plans for mosquito management work that may be conducted by 
private landowners, groups, organizations, municipalities, counties and mosquito 
management districts formed pursuant to section 175; and 
D.  Arrange, to the extent practicable, cooperation among state departments and with 
federal agencies in conducting mosquito management operations within the State. 
2.  Consultation.  The commissioner shall consult with the University of Maine 
Cooperative Extension and private sector experts and municipalities in developing plans 
and procedures for implementing this chapter. 
3.  Assist with disseminating information.  When sufficient money for such 
purposes is available in the fund, the commissioner, in cooperation with appropriate 
personnel from the Department of Health and Human Services and experts from the 
University of Maine Cooperative Extension, shall assist private landowners, groups, 
organizations, municipalities, counties and mosquito management districts formed 
pursuant to section 175 to disseminate information to the residents of the State about 
ways to reduce mosquito populations, to eliminate mosquito breeding sites and to protect 
themselves from mosquito-borne diseases as well as other relevant information. 
4.  Implement mosquito management response.  When a mosquito-borne disease 
public health threat is declared by the Commissioner of Health and Human Services 
pursuant to Title 22, section 1447, the Commissioner of Agriculture, Conservation and 
Forestry shall implement an effective management response consistent with section 171. 
The management response must include combinations of integrated pest management 
techniques. The Commissioner of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry shall consider 
the availability of funds in the fund in planning the response. 
§174.  Maine Mosquito Management Fund 
The Maine Mosquito Management Fund, referred to in this chapter 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. The 
fund, to be accounted for within the department, 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.  The 
department may expend the money available in the fund and make grants to private 
landowners, groups, organizations, agencies, municipalities, counties, the University of 
Maine Cooperative Extension and mosquito management districts formed pursuant to 
section 175 to carry out the purposes of this chapter. 
§175.  Mosquito management districts 
For the purposes of preserving and promoting the public health and welfare by 
providing for coordinated and effective management of mosquitoes, municipalities may 
cooperate with each other through the creation of mosquito management districts. 
§176.  Rules 
The commissioner may adopt rules to carry out the purposes of this chapter. Rules 
adopted pursuant to this section are major substantive rules as described in Title 5, 
chapter 375, subchapter 2-A. 
Sec. 2.  22 MRSA c. 257-B is enacted to read: 
CHAPTER 257-B 
MOSQUITOES 
§1447.  Lead agency for monitoring mosquito-borne diseases; declaring a public 
health threat 
The department is the lead agency for monitoring for mosquito-borne diseases in the 
State and determining the severity of the threat to the public health. The Maine Center for 
Disease Control and Prevention shall create and maintain an arboviral illness 
surveillance, prevention and response plan for the purposes of alerting the public and 
other state, local and federal agencies about the existence of the threat so that appropriate 
actions may be taken. When available surveillance information indicates a strong 
likelihood of a human disease outbreak arising from mosquito-borne pathogens, the 
commissioner may declare a mosquito-borne disease public health threat in accordance 
with the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention arboviral illness surveillance, 
prevention and response plan.  For purposes of this section, the department shall 
collaborate with the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry. 
SUMMARY 
This bill is reported out by the Joint Standing Committee on Agriculture, 
Conservation and Forestry pursuant to Resolve 2013, chapter 13, section 2.  As required 
by the resolve, the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry submitted to the 
committee its plan for protecting the public health from mosquito-borne diseases in 
December 2013, including draft legislation to implement its plan. 
The committee has not taken a position on the substance of the plan or this bill and, 
though the committee is reporting this bill out, the committee is not suggesting and does 
not intend to suggest that it agrees or disagrees with any aspect of the department's plan 
or this bill.  The committee is reporting the bill out for the sole purpose of turning the 
department's proposal into a printed bill that can be referred to the committee for an 
appropriate public hearing and subsequent processing in the normal course.  The 
committee is taking this action to ensure clarity and transparency in the legislative review 
of the department's proposal. 
The bill establishes that the Department of Health and Human Services is the lead 
agency in the State for monitoring for mosquito-borne diseases. It authorizes the 
Commissioner of Health and Human Services to declare a mosquito-borne disease public 
health threat. The bill also establishes the state policy for managing disease-carrying 
mosquitoes and authorizes the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, 
after consulting with affected municipalities, to conduct appropriate mosquito 
management activities in response to mosquito-borne disease public health threats. In 
addition, the bill authorizes municipalities to cooperate in managing mosquitoes through 
the formation of mosquito management districts.  It establishes the Maine Mosquito 
Management Fund to provide funding for mosquito management activities.