Sec. 1. 12 MRSA §6455, sub-§5, as amended by PL 1997, c. 211, §3, is further amended to read:

5. Fund established; license surcharge assessed. The Lobster Promotion Fund, referred to in this subchapter as the "fund," is established to carry out the purposes of this subchapter. The department shall pay to the fund all money appropriated or received by the department for the purposes of this subchapter, except that the department may retain funds necessary to reimburse the department for the actual cost of collecting the license surcharges established in this subsection. The fund is capitalized from the following annual surcharges assessed on the following licenses issued by the department for calendar years 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 and, 2001, 2002 and 2003:

A. Class I crab and lobster licenses for persons 18 to 69 years of age, $25 $50;

B. Class II crab and lobster licenses, $50 $75;

C. Class III crab and lobster licenses, $75 $100;

D. Wholesale seafood licenses with lobster permits, $200 $225; and

E. Lobster transportation licenses, $200 $225.

A person holding more than one of the licenses listed in this subsection is assessed a surcharge only on the highest surchargeable license held.

The Treasurer of State shall hold all surcharges assessed by this subsection in the fund and invest all money in the fund until disbursed to the council upon request of the council. Interest from investments accrues to the fund.

All money in the fund is subject to allocation by the Legislature. Unexpended balances in the fund at the end of the fiscal year may not lapse but must be carried forward to be used for the same purposes.

In addition to payment of the regular license fee and the surcharge, a person purchasing a license subject to the surcharges established in this subsection may make voluntary contributions to the fund at the time the license is purchased. Voluntary contributions received by the department from a