Sec. 54. 12 MRSA §544-B, sub-§3, ¶B, as enacted by PL 1999, c. 556, §13, is amended to read:

B. The commissioner may establish procedures to substantiate the identification of endangered and threatened native plant species. In determining and revising the list, the commissioner shall use the rare plant database of the Natural Areas Program, the advice of the Natural Areas Advisory Board and the knowledge of botanists in the State. In addition, the commissioner shall consult with federal agencies, interested state agencies, other states or provinces having a common interest and other interested persons and organizations. The commissioner shall determine criteria for each category. When establishing the list, the commissioner shall consider aspects of plant biology that contribute to a species' rarity such as:

(1) Endemism. The plant species or subspecies may be geographically restricted to the State or areas immediately adjacent to the State;

(2) Scarcity. A plant species or subspecies may be numerically scarce throughout its distribution in North America and occur in only a few locations in the State;

(3) Special habitat. A plant species or subspecies may require habitat that is scarce in the State;

(4) Limit of range. A plant species or subspecies in the State may be at the edge of its distribution or disjunct from its main distribution; and

(5) Population decline or vulnerability. A plant species or subspecies may be threatened or seriously declining due to habitat modification or destruction or from overcollection for commercial, recreational or educational purposes.

Sec. 55. 20-A MRSA §12733, first ¶, as enacted by PL 1993, c. 392, §2 and amended by PL 2003, c. 20, Pt. OO, §2 and affected by §4, is further amended to read: