2023 Maine Revised Statutes › TITLE 12: CONSERVATION › Part 13: INLAND FISHERIES AND WILDLIFE › Subpart 2: DEPARTMENT ORGANIZATION › Chapter 903: DEPARTMENT OF INLAND FISHERIES AND WILDLIFE › Subchapter 5: SPECIAL FUNDS › 12 §10259. Whitewater Rafting Fund

§10259. Whitewater Rafting Fund
1.  Fund established.
The Whitewater Rafting Fund, referred to in this section as the "fund," is established to be used by the department, the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, Bureau of Parks and Lands and the affected counties and municipalities to fund activities related to river recreation with primary emphasis on those activities that relate to whitewater trips.
[PL 2003, c. 414, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); PL 2003, c. 614, §9 (AFF); PL 2011, c. 657, Pt. W, §§5, 7 (REV); PL 2013, c. 405, Pt. A, §24 (REV).]
2.  Funding.
All fees and surcharges collected under chapter 929 must be credited to the fund, except for license fees collected in accordance with sections 12907 and 12909.
[PL 2003, c. 414, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); PL 2003, c. 614, §9 (AFF).]
3.  Budget.
[PL 2013, c. 368, Pt. LLLL, §4 (RP).]
4.  Use of fund.
The fund must be used according to this subsection.
A. The money deposited in the fund must be credited as follows.
(1) Sixty-five percent of each fee or surcharge must be credited to the department.
(2) Twenty-five percent of each fee or surcharge must be credited to the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, Bureau of Parks and Lands.
(3) Ten percent of each fee or surcharge must be credited to the county in which the river is located for distribution among the affected municipalities and for use in the affected unorganized townships.   [PL 2003, c. 414, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); PL 2003, c. 614, §9 (AFF); PL 2011, c. 657, Pt. W, §§5, 7 (REV); PL 2013, c. 405, Pt. A, §24 (REV).]
B. All money from the fund must be expended solely for purposes related to river recreation, with primary emphasis on those activities that relate to whitewater trips, including, but not limited to, administration, regulation, safety education, enforcement, mitigation of environmental and safety problems and mitigation of any adverse effect on competing use of the river. The fund may not be used to pay the cost of administering the whitewater outfitters' license program or the guide license program.   [PL 2003, c. 414, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); PL 2003, c. 614, §9 (AFF).]
C. Any amount of the fund that is not expended at the end of a fiscal year does not lapse but must be carried forward.   [PL 2003, c. 414, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); PL 2003, c. 614, §9 (AFF).]
D. The Legislature shall appropriate to the department in each fiscal year an amount equal to the administrative costs incurred by the department in collecting revenue under this section. Those costs must be verified by the Department of Administrative and Financial Services.   [PL 2003, c. 414, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); PL 2003, c. 614, §9 (AFF).]
[PL 2003, c. 414, Pt. A, §2 (NEW); PL 2003, c. 614, §9 (AFF); PL 2011, c. 657, Pt. W, §§5, 7 (REV); PL 2013, c. 405, Pt. A, §24 (REV).]
SECTION HISTORY
PL 2003, c. 414, §A2 (NEW). PL 2003, c. 414, §D7 (AFF). PL 2003, c. 614, §9 (AFF). PL 2007, c. 651, §7 (AMD). PL 2011, c. 657, Pt. W, §§5, 7 (REV). PL 2013, c. 368, Pt. LLLL, §4 (AMD). PL 2013, c. 405, Pt. A, §24 (REV).