An Act To Streamline and Ensure Adequate Funding for the Bureau of Air Quality
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 38 MRSA §353-A, sub-§1-A, as enacted by PL 1993, c. 412, §2, is amended to read:
1-A. Annual fee surcharge. Beginning November 1, 1994 2008, a licensee shall pay an annual fee surcharge of $10 not to exceed $4 per every 1,000 air quality units as defined in section 582, subsection 11-E.
Sec. 2. 38 MRSA §353-A, sub-§3, as amended by PL 1993, c. 412, §3, is further amended to read:
3. Schedule. The fee for existing licenses must be paid on the anniversary date of the license. This date, once established, remains the scheduled date for paying the annual fee, regardless of future changes of the anniversary date. The effective date of a license is deemed to be the anniversary date. The license fee for a license with an anniversary date in January, February or March must be paid by the end of February. The license fee for a license with an anniversary date in April, May or June must be paid by the end of May. The license fee for a license with an anniversary date in July, August or September must be paid by the end of August. The license fee for a license with an anniversary date in October, November or December must be paid by the end of November. The annual fee for new applications must be estimated and paid at the time of filing the application. When the processing of the application is complete, the final annual fee is determined. Any additional amount is due prior to the issuance of the license. Any overpayment must be refunded. If the application is denied, 50% of the initial annual fee must be refunded. The effective date of the license becomes the anniversary date.
Sec. 3. 38 MRSA §353-A, sub-§8, as enacted by PL 1991, c. 384, §8 and affected by §16, is amended to read:
8. Nonpayment of fee. Failure to pay the annual fee within 30 60 days of the anniversary date of a license is sufficient grounds for revocation of the license under section 341-D, subsection 3.
Sec. 4. 38 MRSA §582, sub-§11-D, as enacted by PL 1993, c. 412, §7 and amended by PL 2003, c. 689, Pt. B, §6, is further amended to read:
11-D. Toxicity score. " Air quality Toxicity score" means a score given to a hazardous air pollutant by the Department of Health and Human Services based on the sum of qualitative scores, plus the standard deviation, in 4 categories; carcinogenicity, mutagenicity, reproductive effects and acute effects , Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
Sec. 5. 38 MRSA §582, sub-§11-E, as enacted by PL 1993, c. 412, §7 and amended by PL 2003, c. 689, Pt. B, §6, is further amended to read:
11-E. Air quality units. "Air quality units" means the result of the Department of Health and Human Services' toxicity score for a hazardous air pollutant multiplied by the estimated emissions of that hazardous air pollutant.
Sec. 6. Effective date. This Act takes effect November 1, 2008.
summary
This bill adjusts the annual fee surcharge to licensed air emission sources. The additional revenue raised when applying this new surcharge to the most current toxicity information available, as determined by the Department of Health and Human Services, Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and the most current emissions inventory, as determined by the Department of Environmental Protection, will be used to sustain funding for the core program of the Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Air Quality.
The bill also reduces the administrative procedures for billing of annual license fees. Instead of sending out bills for licenses that expire each month, the bureau will send out bills only once each quarter for the licenses that expire during that quarter. The nonpayment period for each license is extended from 30 to 60 days to accommodate this change in billing procedures.
Finally, the bill changes the definition of "air quality score" to "toxicity score."