An Act To Increase Funding for the Animal Welfare Fund by Increasing Certain Fees
Maine Legislature, Session 130, LD 1744
Committee: Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry
Sponsors: DILL
Amends: 7 MRSA §714, 7 MRSA §3906-B, 7 MRSA §3919-C

Legislative Document
No. 1744
S.P. 599
In Senate, December 2, 2021
An Act To Increase Funding for the Animal Welfare Fund by 
Increasing Certain Fees
Submitted by the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry pursuant to Joint 
Rule 203.
Received by the Secretary of the Senate on November 30, 2021.  Referred to the 
Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered 
printed.
DAREK M. GRANT
Secretary of the Senate
Presented by Senator DILL of Penobscot.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  7 MRSA §714, sub-§2, as repealed and replaced by PL 2001, c. 422, §2, is 
amended to read:
2.  Fees.  The commissioner shall deposit 1/2 of the fees collected pursuant to 
subsection 1 in the General Fund and 1/2 of the fees collected in the Animal Welfare Fund 
established under section 3906‑B.
Sec. 2.  7 MRSA §3906-B, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2009, c. 148, §2, is further 
amended to read:
2.  Animal Welfare Fund.  The commissioner shall deposit all license fees received 
pursuant to chapters 721, 723, 725 and 735 in a separate account established by the 
Treasurer of State and known as the Animal Welfare Fund.  The commissioner shall deposit 
1/2 of the feed registration fees collected under section 714, subsection 1 and revenue in 
excess of $100,000 from the surcharge collected under section 714, subsection 4 in the 
Animal Welfare Fund.  This account does not lapse, but continues from year to year.  The 
commissioner shall pay from the Animal Welfare Fund the expense of furnishing license 
blanks, stickers and tags, travel expenses and salaries for necessary personnel, payments to 
animal shelters and expenses incurred in the administration of this Part.
Sec. 3.  7 MRSA §3919-C, sub-§1, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 439, §11, is amended 
to read:
1.  Compensation for dogs and cats.  Compensation for a dog or cat is $5 $15 a day.  
Compensation for a female cat or dog with a litter that has not been weaned is $8 $18 a 
day.
Sec. 4.  7 MRSA §3919-C, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 439, §11, is amended 
to read:
2.  Equines.  Compensation for an equine is $10 $20 a day.
Sec. 5.  7 MRSA §3919-C, sub-§3, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 439, §11, is amended 
to read:
3.  Livestock.  Except for equines, fowl and rabbits, compensation for a livestock 
animal is between $5 and $8 $20 a day as determined by the department based on the size 
of the animal.
SUMMARY
This bill increases the amount of the fees collected from registrations to distribute a 
commercial feed in the State that is deposited in the Animal Welfare Fund from half of the 
fees collected to all of the fees collected.  It amends the animal welfare laws regarding 
rabies prevention and shelters to increase daily compensation for animal shelters holding 
animals pending court decisions from $5 to $15 for dogs and cats, from $8 to $18 for female 
cats or dogs with unweaned litters and from $10 to $20 for equines; it also increases from 
$8 to $20 the upper limit of daily compensation for holding livestock animals, excluding 
equines, fowl and rabbits.