At the discretion of the commissioner, unused designated grant dollars from the previous fiscal year, not to exceed $250,000, may be added to available grant funds in the current fiscal year.

§309. Annual review

The commissioner, the Director of the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Director of the Cooperative Extension Service and the Agriculture Development Committee shall, on an annual basis, review the effectiveness of the programs operated under the provisions of this chapter in facilitating the introduction of new technologies for Maine agricultural operations.

Sec. 6. 7 MRSA §401-D, as enacted by PL 1987, c. 444, is repealed.

Sec. 7. 7 MRSA §436, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 658, §1, is amended to read:

§436. Grants for technical assistance and research

The commissioner may use all or a portion of the accrued interest in the cash balance of the fund Agrcicultural Marketing Loan Fund and interest portion of loan repayments, up to a maximum of $150,000 $250,000 per year, for grants for technical assistance and for the research programs identified in the technology transfer program in chapter 10, and the Agricultural Market Research and Development Fund established in section 401- D, for the purposes of supporting adoption of new and innovative technology to support agricultural production and marketing the agricultural development grant program in chapter 10.

SUMMARY

This bill consolidates administration of existing agricultural market and production development grant programs including the Agricultural Marketing Loan Fund, technology transfer and special research projects program and the market research and development grant program. The bill combines all of these programs into one comprehensive agricultural development grant program that will include all the elements of the individual grant programs, add a market promotion eligibility