‘An Act To Allow Municipalities with Municipal Shellfish Conservation Ordinances To Establish Minimum and Maximum Size Limits for Shellfish That Are at Least as Strict as Those Limits Established by the State’
| HP0715 LD 960 |
Session - 129th Maine Legislature C "A", Filing Number H-177, Sponsored by
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LR 2069 Item 2 |
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| Bill Tracking, Additional Documents | Chamber Status | ||
Amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting the following:
‘An Act To Allow Municipalities with Municipal Shellfish Conservation Ordinances To Establish Minimum and Maximum Size Limits for Shellfish That Are at Least as Strict as Those Limits Established by the State’
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and inserting the following:
‘Sec. 1. 12 MRSA §6671, sub-§3, ¶A, as amended by PL 2017, c. 350, §1, is further amended to read:
(1) Regulate or prohibit the possession of shellfish;
(2) Fix the amount of shellfish that may be taken;
(3) Provide for protection from shellfish predators;
(4) Authorize the municipal officials to open and close flats under specified conditions; and
(5) Specify areas of the intertidal zone in which the dragging of mussels may be limited to the degree necessary to support a municipal shellfish conservation program . ;
(6) Establish a minimum size limit for possession of shellfish regulated in the ordinance, as long as those size limits are as strict or stricter than any minimum size limit set in this chapter or by rule, except that an ordinance must establish minimum size limits for possession of soft-shell clams that are at least as strict as those limits established in section 6681; and
(7) Establish a maximum size limit for possession of shellfish regulated in the ordinance, as long as those size limits are as strict or stricter than any maximum size limit set in this chapter or by rule.
Sec. 2. 12 MRSA §6671, sub-§3, ¶B, as enacted by PL 2001, c. 188, §2, is repealed.
Sec. 3. 12 MRSA §6671, sub-§8, ¶D is enacted to read:
Amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or section number to read consecutively.
summary
This amendment replaces the bill, which is a concept draft, and the title. It specifies that a municipality with a municipal shellfish conservation ordinance may establish minimum or maximum size limits on shellfish regulated by the ordinance as long as those limits established are no less stringent than any minimum or maximum size limit set in law or rule, except it requires that an ordinance must establish minimum size limits for soft-shell clams that are at least as strict as those limits established in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 12, section 6681. Lastly, it also clarifies that enforcement of any provision adopted in any ordinance is enforceable only in the municipality in which the harvesting of the shellfish occurs.