An Act To Make Technical Changes to Maine's Marine Resources Laws
Maine Legislature, Session 129, LD 1925
Committee: Marine Resources
Sponsors: MIRAMANT
Amends: 12 MRSA §6302-B, 12 MRSA §6409, 12 MRSA §6410, 12 MRSA §6411, 12 MRSA §6505-A, 12 MRSA §6575-K, 12 MRSA §6851

Legislative Document
No. 1925
S.P. 667
In Senate, January 2, 2020
An Act To Make Technical Changes to Maine's Marine Resources 
Laws
Submitted by the Department of Marine Resources pursuant to Joint Rule 203.
Received by the Secretary of the Senate on January 2, 2020.  Referred to the Committee on 
Marine Resources pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed.
DAREK M. GRANT
Secretary of the Senate
Presented by Senator MIRAMANT of Knox.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  12 MRSA §6302-B, sub-§3, as enacted by PL 2013, c. 485, §3, is 
amended to read:
3.  Overage.  If the total weight amount of elvers elver quota sold by persons 
licensed by the Passamaquoddy Tribe, Penobscot Nation, Aroostook Band of Micmacs or 
Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians exceeds the quota allocated under subsection 1 to that 
tribe, nation or band, the commissioner shall deduct the amount of the overage from any 
future allocation to that tribe, nation or band.  If the overage exceeds the overall annual 
quota allocated to that tribe, nation or band for the following year, the overage must be 
deducted from the overall annual quota allocations to that tribe, nation or band in 
subsequent years until the entire overage has been accounted for.
Sec. 2.  12 MRSA §6409, as amended by PL 2009, c. 561, §14, is further amended 
to read:
§6409.  Suspension of license for failure to appear, answer or pay 
If a license is suspended pursuant to Title 14, section 3142, the suspension remains in 
effect and that person is ineligible to obtain or hold a license until the person pays the 
fine.  On Except for a limited entry fishery, as defined in section 6310-A, subsection 2, 
upon payment of the fine and on condition of payment of a $25 administrative fee to the 
department, the suspension is rescinded and the person's eligibility to obtain or hold a 
license reinstated.  For a limited entry fishery, as defined in section 6310-A, subsection 2, 
in order for the suspension to be rescinded and the person's eligibility to obtain or hold a 
license to be reinstated, the person must purchase the license and pay the $25 
administrative fee to the department by no later than the end of the calendar year 
following the year in which the fine is paid.  For the purposes of this section, "fine" has 
the same meaning as in Title 14, section 3141, subsection 1.
Sec. 3.  12 MRSA §6410, as amended by PL 2009, c. 561, §15, is further amended 
to read:
§6410.  Suspension of license for failure to comply with court order of support
If a person's eligibility to obtain or hold a license or registration is suspended 
pursuant to Title 19-A, section 2201, the suspension remains in effect until the person is 
in compliance with a court order of support.  On condition of Except for a limited entry 
fishery, as defined in section 6310-A, subsection 2, upon payment of a $25 administrative 
fee to the department, the suspension is rescinded and the person's eligibility to obtain or 
hold a license reinstated.  For a limited entry fishery, as defined in section 6310-A, 
subsection 2, in order for the suspension to be rescinded and the person's eligibility to 
obtain or hold a license to be reinstated, the person must purchase the license and pay the 
$25 administrative fee to the department by no later than the end of the calendar year 
following the year in which the person is in compliance with the court order of support.
Sec. 4.  12 MRSA §6411, as enacted by PL 2009, c. 561, §16, is amended to read:
§6411.  Refusal to renew or reissue license for failure to file or failure to pay state 
tax obligations
If a person's eligibility to obtain a license is suspended pursuant to Title 36, section 
175, the suspension is in effect until the State Tax Assessor issues a certificate of good 
standing.  On condition of Except for a limited entry fishery, as defined in section 
6310-A, subsection 2, upon payment of a $25 administrative fee to the department, the 
suspension is rescinded and the person's eligibility to obtain a license reinstated.  For a 
limited entry fishery, as defined in section 6310-A, subsection 2, in order for the 
suspension to be rescinded and the person's eligibility to obtain a license to be reinstated, 
the person must purchase the license and pay the $25 administrative fee to the department 
by no later than the end of the calendar year following the year in which the person is 
issued a certificate of good standing.
Sec. 5.  12 MRSA §6505-A, sub-§3-A, as amended by PL 2015, c. 131, §1, is 
further amended to read:
3-A.  Elver fishing quotas.  The commissioner may adopt rules to establish, 
implement and administer an elver individual fishing quota system in order to ensure that 
the elver fishery annual landings do not exceed the overall annual quota established by 
the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. Except as provided in section 6575-L, a 
person issued a license under this section or section 6302-A, subsection 3, paragraph E, 
E-1, F or G may not take, possess or sell elvers an amount of elver quota in excess of the 
weight quota allocated to that person under the quota system. The rules must:
A.  Establish an overall annual quota for the State;
B.  Establish the amount of the overall annual quota under paragraph A that is 
allocated to persons licensed under this section and specify a formula to establish 
individual quotas for persons licensed under this section.  The formula may take into 
account the amount of elvers a person licensed under this section lawfully harvested 
in previous seasons based on final harvesting reports.  The rules must specify the date 
by which harvester reports are considered final for the purpose of determining 
individual quotas; and
C.  Provide, in accordance with section 6302-B, that 21.9% of the overall annual 
quota under paragraph A is allocated to the federally recognized Indian tribes in the 
State and establish the amount of that portion of the overall annual quota allocated to 
the Passamaquoddy Tribe, the Penobscot Nation, the Houlton Band of Maliseet 
Indians and the Aroostook Band of Micmacs.
If persons issued licenses under this section collectively exceed the overall annual quota 
allocated to those persons pursuant to paragraph B, the number of pounds by which the 
license holders exceeded that overall annual quota must be deducted from the following 
year's overall annual quota allocated to persons licensed under this section. If the overage 
exceeds the overall annual quota allocated to persons licensed under this section for the 
following year, the overage must be deducted from the overall annual quota allocated to 
persons licensed under this section in subsequent years until the entire overage has been 
accounted for.
The commissioner may adopt or amend rules on an emergency basis if immediate action 
is necessary to establish and implement the elver individual fishing quota in advance of 
the beginning of the elver fishing season.
Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, 
chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.
Sec. 6.  12 MRSA §6575-K, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2015, c. 131, §2, is 
further amended to read:
1.  Prohibition on possession or sale of elvers in excess of elver individual fishing 
quota.  A person may not possess or sell a weight of elvers an amount of elver individual 
fishing quota that exceeds the elver individual fishing quota that person has been 
allocated for the fishing season pursuant to section 6505-A, subsection 3-A, plus any 
additional quota the person may be authorized to take under section 6575-L.
Sec. 7.  12 MRSA §6575-K, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2015, c. 131, §2, is 
further amended to read:
2.  Prohibition on fishing after elver individual fishing quota has been reached.  
Except as provided in section 6575-L, this section applies to fishing after a person's elver 
individual fishing quota has been reached.  A person who has sold a weight of elvers an 
amount of elver individual fishing quota that meets or exceeds that person's elver 
individual fishing quota may not fish for or possess elvers for the remainder of the 
season, except that such a person who has been issued a license to fish for elvers may in 
accordance with section 6575-D assist another person who has been issued a license to 
fish for elvers who has not met or exceeded that person's elver individual fishing quota as 
provided in section 6505-A, subsection 3-A.  All gear tagged by a license holder who has 
met or exceeded that person's elver individual fishing quota must be removed.  A marine 
patrol officer may seize the elver transaction card of a license holder who has met or 
exceeded that person's elver individual fishing quota.
Sec. 8.  12 MRSA §6851, sub-§2-A, as amended by PL 2009, c. 523, §8, is 
further amended to read:
2-A.  Wholesale seafood license with lobster permit.  At the request of the 
applicant, the commissioner shall issue a wholesale seafood license with a lobster permit.  
A person holding a wholesale seafood license with a lobster permit may engage in all the 
activities in subsection 2 and may buy, sell, process or ship lobster or properly licensed or 
lawfully imported lobster meat or parts.  A person holding a wholesale seafood license 
with a lobster permit may transport lobster or properly licensed or lawfully imported 
lobster meat or parts anywhere within the state limits.  A license under this subsection 
does not authorize a person to possess or transport lobster that person has taken unless 
that person is in possession of a license issued under section 6421, subsection 3-A, 
paragraph A, B, C or E.  A license under this subsection does not authorize a person to 
remove lobster meat from the shell unless a license under section 6851-B or 6857 is held.
SUMMARY
This bill makes technical changes to Maine's marine resources laws.  It clarifies that it 
is the amount of quota, not the weight of elvers, sold through the elver transaction card 
system that is used to determine if an allocated quota has been exceeded.  It clarifies that 
if a person holds a license in a limited entry fishery and that license has been suspended 
by the court, by the Department of Health and Human Services or by the Department of 
Administrative and Financial Services, Maine Revenue Services, the person, when the 
person becomes compliant, has the remainder of that calendar year and all of the 
following calendar year to purchase the license.  It clarifies that a person who holds a 
wholesale seafood license with a lobster permit may remove lobster meat from the shell 
under either a lobster processor license or a lobster meat permit.