121st Maine Legislature
		Office of Fiscal and Program Review
		LD 1215
		An Act To Amend the Animal Welfare Laws and improve Funding
		LR 1533(01)
		Fiscal Note for Original Bill
		Sponsor: Rep. Millett
		Committee: Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry
		Fiscal Note Required: Yes
Fiscal Note
					Projections	Projections
			2003-04	2004-05	2005-06	2006-07
Revenue
	Other Special Revenue Funds		($199,124)	($265,498)	($265,498)	($265,498)
Fiscal Detail and Notes
	The repeal of dog licensing fees will reduce the dedicated revenues collected by the Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources; the estimated amounts are $199,124 and $265,498 in fiscal years 2003-04 and 2004-05.  The increase in other special revenue in the Animal Welfare Fund due to the establishment of an excise tax on domestic animal food is not reflected in the numbers above and can not be estimated until questions raised regarding the tax have been answered.  Maine Revenue Services may require additional funding for the administrative costs associated with this new tax.
	The "Part I" budget, P.L. 2003, C. 20, eliminated funding for OPEGA in FY 04 and FY 05.    It is not known at this time whether the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability will be funded and staffed in the following biennium so that the review required in section B-1 can be conducted by the time frame specified in the bill.