An Act To Provide the Option of Online or Telephonic Tagging of Harvested Big Game Animals
Maine Legislature, Session 130, LD 1213
Committee: Inland Fisheries and Wildlife
Sponsors: MARTIN
Amends: 12 MRSA §12301-A, 12 MRSA §12302-A, 12 MRSA §12304-A

Legislative Document
No. 1213
H.P. 888
House of Representatives, March 24, 2021
An Act To Provide the Option of Online or Telephonic Tagging of 
Harvested Big Game Animals
Received by the Clerk of the House on March 22, 2021.  Referred to the Committee on 
Inland Fisheries and Wildlife pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to Joint 
Rule 401.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative MARTIN of Sinclair.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  12 MRSA §12301-A, as amended by PL 2013, c. 387, §§4 to 6, is further 
amended to read:
§12301-A.  Registration of harvested animals
1.  Registration stations process established.  The commissioner shall adopt rules 
governing the establishment and closure of bear, deer, moose and wild turkey registration 
stations for the purpose of registering harvested bear, deer, moose and wild turkey and to 
allow for the collection of biological and hunting data and prescribe a form and content of 
bear, deer, moose and wild turkey registration to include the use of a computer, telephone 
or mobile electronic device in lieu of presenting the animal at a tagging station for 
registration.  Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules as defined 
in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2‑A.
2.  Agents designated.  An agent designated by the commissioner must be in charge 
of each bear, deer, moose or wild turkey registration station and of the computer, telephone 
or mobile electronic device registration process under subsection 1.
3.  Agent duties.  Registration agents shall:
A.  Register every bear, deer, moose or wild turkey legally presented for registration;
B.  Attach a seal to each bear, deer, moose or wild turkey in the manner directed and 
with the materials furnished by the commissioner or, in the case of computer, telephone 
or mobile electronic device registration, provide a unique registration number to attach 
to the animal;
C.  Collect $5 and retain $2 for each seal or unique registration number from the person 
registering a bear, deer or moose.  The remaining $3 must be returned to the department 
by the agent pursuant to section 10801, subsection 3; and
D.  Collect and retain $2 for each wild turkey registered.
Sec. 2.  12 MRSA §12302-A, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 655, Pt. B, §228 and affected 
by §422, is amended to read:
§12302-A.  Timely registration of bear, deer, moose or wild turkey
1.  Requirement.  A person who kills a bear, deer, moose or wild turkey shall:
A.  Remain with that animal until it is registered, except as provided in section 
12303‑A;
B.  Present that animal for registration in that person's name at the first open registration 
station for that animal on the route taken by that person or use a computer, telephone 
or mobile electronic device to register the animal in accordance with rules adopted by 
the commissioner; and
C.  Leave the registration seal or unique registration number provided pursuant to 
section 12301-A, subsection 3, paragraph B attached to the animal in accordance with 
section 12301‑A until that animal is processed and packaged for consumption.
2.  Penalty.  A person who violates this section commits a Class E crime.
Sec. 3.  12 MRSA §12304-A, sub-§1, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 655, Pt. B, §232 
and affected by §422, is amended to read:
1.  Prohibition.  Except as provided in subsection 2 or for a person using a computer, 
telephone or mobile electronic device to register pursuant to section 12301-A, subsection 
1, a person must present the following wild animals for registration in their entirety:
A.  Bear;
B.  Deer;
C.  Moose; or
D.  Wild turkey.
SUMMARY
This bill requires the Commissioner of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife to prescribe a 
form and content of bear, deer, moose and wild turkey registration to include the use of a 
computer, telephone or mobile electronic device in lieu of presenting the animal at a 
tagging station for registration and to provide a person using this system a unique 
registration number to attach to the animal in lieu of a seal.