An Act To Allow Holders of Gold Star Family Registration Plates To Be Issued Complimentary Licenses To Hunt, Trap and Fish and To Exempt Them from Vehicle Registration Fees
Maine Legislature, Session 129, LD 0663
Committee: Inland Fisheries and Wildlife
Sponsors: FECTEAU, ANDREWS, FAULKINGHAM, MARTIN, STROM
Amends: 12 MRSA §10853, 29-A MRSA §501, 29-A MRSA §524-B

Legislative Document
No. 663
H.P. 484
House of Representatives, February 7, 2019
An Act To Allow Holders of Gold Star Family Registration Plates 
To Be Issued Complimentary Licenses To Hunt, Trap and Fish and 
To Exempt Them from Vehicle Registration Fees
Reference to the Committee on Inland Fisheries and Wildlife suggested and ordered 
printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative FECTEAU of Augusta.
Cosponsored by Representatives: ANDREWS of Paris, FAULKINGHAM of Winter Harbor, 
FECTEAU of Biddeford, MARTIN of Sinclair, STROM of Pittsfield.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  12 MRSA §10853, sub-§18 is enacted to read:
18.  Gold star family registration plate holder.  A complimentary license to hunt, 
trap and fish, including permits, stamps and other permissions needed to hunt, may be 
issued, upon application, to the holder of a registration certificate and a set of gold star 
family registration plates pursuant to Title 29-A, section 524-B.
Sec. 2.  29-A MRSA §501, as amended by PL 2015, c. 206, §4 and c. 267, Pt. 
BBBB, §1, is further amended by adding at the end a new paragraph to read:
A person possessing or applying for a registration certificate and a set of gold star 
family registration plates pursuant to section 524-B is exempt from registration fees under 
this section for the motor vehicle registered or to be registered.
Sec. 3.  29-A MRSA §524-B, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2015, c. 17, §1 and 
affected by §3, is further amended to read:
1.  Eligibility.  Notwithstanding the requirements in section 468-A, the Secretary of 
State, upon application and upon evidence of payment of the excise tax required by Title 
36, section 1482 and the annual motor vehicle registration fee required by section 501, 
shall issue a registration certificate and a set of gold star family registration plates, to be 
used in lieu of regular registration plates, to:
A.  A person who is eligible to receive a gold star lapel button under 10 United States 
Code, Section 1126 (2010); 
B.  A grandparent of a member of the United States Armed Forces, if that member 
dies after March 28, 1973 as a result of:
(1)  An international terrorist attack against the United States or a foreign nation 
friendly to the United States, recognized as such an attack by the United States 
Secretary of Defense; or
(2)  Military operations while serving outside the United States, including the 
commonwealths, territories and possessions of the United States, as a part of a 
peacekeeping force;
C.  A person who is not eligible to receive a gold star lapel button under 10 United 
States Code, Section 1126 (2010) but who is eligible for a lapel button for next of kin 
of deceased personnel under 32 Code of Federal Regulations, Section 578.63 (2006); 
and
D.  A grandparent of a member of the United States Armed Forces, if that member 
dies while serving on active duty or while assigned in the reserve components of the 
United States Armed Forces or Army National Guard unit in a drill status.
SUMMARY
This bill allows the holder of a registration certificate and a set of gold star family 
registration plates pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 29-A, section 524-B to be 
issued a complimentary license to hunt, trap and fish, including permits, stamps and other 
permissions needed to hunt.  It also exempts a person with a registration certificate and a 
set of gold star family registration plates from the annual motor vehicle registration fee.