Whereas, the lottery for hunting wild turkeys contained in this legislation must take effect prior to the start of this year's wild turkey season; and

Whereas, in the judgment of the Legislature, these facts create an emergency within the meaning of the Constitution of Maine and require the following legislation as immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety; now, therefore,

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:

Sec. 1. 12 MRSA §7468, sub-§1, as enacted by PL 1985, c. 95, §1, is repealed.

Sec. 2. 12 MRSA §7468, sub-§1-A is enacted to read:

1-A.__Authority of the commissioner.__The commissioner may establish open seasons for hunting wild turkeys, designate areas that are open to the taking of wild turkeys in any part of the State, prescribe the form and regulate the number of permits to be issued, determine the number and sex of birds to be harvested, establish bag limits, establish permit eligibility requirements, specify the types of weapons to be used during any open wild turkey hunting season and make any other rules that the commissioner considers necessary for the protection of the wild turkey resource.

Sec. 3. 12 MRSA §7468, sub-§2, is enacted by PL 1985, c. 95, §1, is repealed.

Sec. 4. 12 MRSA §7468, sub-§3, as amended by PL 2001, c. 56, §1, is repealed.

Sec. 5. 12 MRSA §7468, sub-§4, as amended by PL 2001, c. 6, §1, is further amended to read:

4. Wild turkey hunting permits. The commissioner may establish the number of wild turkey permits for each wild turkey hunting zone and may issue those permits annually. The fee for a wild turkey hunting permit is $10 for residents and $40 for nonresidents and aliens.__When a public chance drawing is utilized to allocate permits, any Maine resident, nonresident or alien who is eligible to obtain a Maine hunting license or who will be eligible to obtain a Maine hunting license by the opening day of the wild turkey hunting season is eligible to apply for a