An Act To Clarify Maine's Fish and Wildlife Licensing and Registration Laws
Maine Legislature, Session 130, LD 0223
Committee: Inland Fisheries and Wildlife
Sponsors: ALLEY
Amends: 12 MRSA §10902, 12 MRSA §12201, 12 MRSA §13104

Legislative Document
No. 223
H.P. 158
House of Representatives, January 27, 2021
An Act To Clarify Maine's Fish and Wildlife Licensing and 
Registration Laws
Submitted by the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife pursuant to Joint Rule 204.
Received by the Clerk of the House on January 25, 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 ALLEY of Beals.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  12 MRSA §10902, sub-§3, as amended by PL 2013, c. 538, §3, is further 
amended to read:
3.  Failure to pay fine; reinstatement fee.  If a license or registration is suspended 
pursuant to this section or Title 14, section 3142, the suspension remains in effect until the 
person pays the fine and the reinstatement fee under subsection 11.  On condition of 
payment of a $25 reinstatement fee to the department, the clerk of the court in which the 
suspension was ordered shall rescind the suspension and notify the department, which, 
upon receipt of the $25 reinstatement fee, shall delete any record of the suspension from 
that person's record.  For the purposes of this subsection, "fine" has the same meaning as 
in Title 14, section 3141, subsection 1.
Sec. 2.  12 MRSA §10902, sub-§11 is enacted to read:
11.  Reinstatement fee.  A person who has had a license, permit or registration 
suspended or revoked pursuant to this section must pay a $50 reinstatement fee, and a 
suspension or revocation remains in effect until the person pays the fee.
Sec. 3.  12 MRSA §12201, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2019, c. 325, §6, is further 
amended to read:
2.  Eligibility.  The following persons are eligible to purchase a trapping license, 
subject to the provisions of subsection 3.
A.  A resident 16 years of age or older is eligible to purchase a resident adult trapping 
license.
B.  A resident person 10 years of age or older and under 16 years of age is eligible to 
purchase a resident junior trapping license.
C.  A resident person under 10 years of age may trap all legal species, except bear, 
without a license.
D.  A nonresident 16 years of age or older who is a citizen of the United States is 
eligible to purchase a nonresident adult trapping license.
E.  If a nonresident is not a citizen of the United States, the nonresident may purchase 
a nonresident adult trapping license but may not trap any species other than beaver 
pursuant to section 12259, subsection 3.
Sec. 4.  12 MRSA §12201, sub-§5, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 414, Pt. A, §2 and 
affected by c. 614, §9, is amended by amending the last blocked paragraph to read:
A resident junior trapping license issued to a person who has passed that person's 15th 
birthday is valid through the year for which the license was issued.
Sec. 5.  12 MRSA §12201, sub-§6, as amended by PL 2015, c. 245, §6, is further 
amended to read:
6.  Trapping fees.  The fees for trapping licenses are as follows:
A.  A resident junior trapping license, for a person 10 years of age or older and under 
years of age, is $10;
B.  A resident adult trapping license, for a person 16 years of age or older, is $36; and
C.  A nonresident adult trapping license is $318.
Sec. 6.  12 MRSA §13104, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 414, Pt. A, §2 and 
affected by c. 614, §9, is repealed and the following enacted in its place:
2.  Application and issuance.  The commissioner, or an agent designated by the 
commissioner, may register and assign a registration number to a snowmobile upon 
application and payment of an annual fee by the owner.  The commissioner shall charge a 
fee of $1 in addition to the annual fee for each registration issued by an employee of the 
department.  The registration number in the form of stickers issued by the commissioner 
must be clearly displayed on both sides of the snowmobile.  A registration is valid for one 
year commencing July 1st of each year, except that any registration issued prior to July 1st 
but after May 1st is valid from the date of issuance until June 30th of the following year.
SUMMARY
This bill requires payment of a $50 reinstatement fee to reinstate a suspended or 
revoked license, permit or registration under the inland fisheries and wildlife laws.  It 
includes language that is consistent with all-terrain vehicle registration requirements in 
regard to the form and display of snowmobile registration numbers and stickers and 
provides that a snowmobile registered after May 1st and prior to July 1st has a registration 
that is valid for the upcoming winter and expires June 30th of the following year.  It also 
allows a nonresident junior trapper to purchase a trapping license at the resident junior rate.