An Act To Continue the Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative
Maine Legislature, Session 128, LD 1791
Committee Amendment CA_B_H641 (House)
Amends: 5 MRSA §12004-H, 12 MRSA §6455

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT .. 6 .. to H.P. 1236, L.D. 1791, Bill, "An Act To 
Continue the Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative" 
Amend the bill by inserting after the enacting clause and before section 1 the 
following: 
'Sec. 1. 5 MRSA §12004-H, sub-§14, as amended by PL 2013, c. 309, §1, is 
further amended to read: 
14. 
Maine Lobster Marketing 
Collaborative 
$55 Per Diem Plus 
Expenses 
MRSA §6455 
This subsection is repealed October 1, 2021. 
Sec. 2. 12 MRSA §6455, sub-§2-B is enacted to read: 
2-B. 
Executive committee. 
The collaborative shall establish an executive 
committee of no fewer than 5 members, who are appointed by a majority vote of the 
collaborative. The collaborative shall specify in its bylaws when the executive committee 
may act on behalf of the collaborative with regard to oversight of collaborative staff. 
daily operations of the collaborative and addressing unexpected expenditures to be made 
by the collaborative. 
The bylaws must specify what constitutes a quorum of the 
executive committee and how many votes are necessary for the executive committee to 
take a valid action. In addition to any other restrictions adopted by the collaborative. the 
executive committee may not act on behalf of the collaborative to: 
A. Adopt or amend an annual budget: 
B. Adopt or amend an annual marketing plan: 
C. Hire or terminate the employment of the executive director of the collaborative: or 
D. Amend the bylaws of the collaborative.' 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
i'b 
~o 
CO:Miv.UTTEEAMENDMENT'6"toH.P.1236,L.D.1791 
Amend the bill in section 1 in paragraph Din the first line (page 1, line 4 in L.D.) by 
striking out the following: "2020" and inserting the following: '2021' 
Amend the bill in section 1 in paragraph D by adding after subparagraph (7) a new 
paragraph blocked to paragraph D to read: 
'Beginning January 1, 2019. the surcharges assessed under this paragraph are 
voluntary and the conunissioner may not refuse to issue a license based upon the 
applicant's nonpayment of the surcharge.' 
Amend the bill by inserting after section 2 the following: 
'Sec. 3. 12 MRSA §6455, sub-§9 is enacted to read: 
9. Repeal. This section is repealed October 1, 2021.' 
Amend the bill by inserting after section 3 the following: 
'Sec. 4. Report. The Commissioner of Marine Resources shall investigate whether 
the surcharges assessed under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 12, section 6455, 
subsection 5-A on a wholesale seafood license with lobster permits or a supplemental 
lobster transportation license may be amended to reflect the amount of lobster bought, 
sold, shipped or transported by the license holder or a class of license holders. The 
conunissioner shall provide a report of reconunendations to amend the surcharges to the 
joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over marine resources 
matters by January 15, 2019. The joint standing conunittee may report out legislation to 
the First Regular Session of the 129th Legislature based upon the report.' 
Amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or 
section number to read consecutively. 
SUMMARY 
This amendment, which is the minority report of the conunittee, establishes an 
executive conunittee of the Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative to take certain 
actions on behalf of the collaborative and specifies which actions are prohibited. The 
amendment retains the provision in the bill that removes the October 1, 2018 repeal of the 
section of law that establishes the collaborative and instead changes the repeal date to 
October 1, 2021. The amendment continues through 2021 the surcharge amounts on 
various types of licenses to fund the collaborative that have been in place since 2016, 
except that this amendment makes those surcharges voluntary for years 2019 to 2021. 
The amendment directs the Conunissioner of Marine Resources to investigate whether 
the surcharges assessed on a wholesale seafood license with lobster permits or a 
supplemental lobster transportation license may be amended to reflect the amount of 
lobster bought, sold, shipped or transported by the license holder or a class of license 
holders and to provide a report ofreconunendations to the joint standing committee of the 
Legislature having jurisdiction over marine resources matters by January 15, 2019. 
FISCAL NOTE REQClREt·. 
(See attached) 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Revenue 
Approved: 03/02/18 :?//a<=. 
LD 1791 
LR2843(03) 
An Act To Continue the Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment d(~fl '& fl) 
Committee: Marine Resources 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
FY 2017-18 
FY2018-19 
Projections 
FY 2019-20 
Projections 
FY 2020-21 
Other Special Revenue Funds 
$0 
($1,059,611) 
($1,589,417) 
($1,589,417) 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
This bill would make the license surcharges used to fund the Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative (MLMC) 
voluntary for fiscal year 2018-19 through fiscal year 2020-21 and would prevent the Department of Marine Resources 
(DMR) from refusing to issue any license based upon an applicant's nonpayment of the surcharge. This would reduce 
the annual revenue to the MLMC for the number of applicants who opt-out of paying the surcharges. Using fiscal 
year 2017 as a baseline and assuming a 50% opt-out rate the first year and a 75% rate subequently, this revenue 
reduction would be $1,059,611 in fiscal year 2018-19 and $1,589,417 in each of the next two fiscal years. Such a 
reduction would greatly limit the ability of the MLMC to continue marketing activities past the current fiscal year. 
Any additional costs to the DMR and the MLMC as a result of changes to the organizational strncture of the MLMC, 
the tirneline for operations of the MLMC and the requirements that DMR investigate and report on possible changes 
to certain license surcharges used to fund the MLMC are anticipated to be minor and can be absorbed within existing 
budgeted resources. 
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