129th MAINE LEGISLATURE
LD 1518 LR 2240(03)
An Act To Establish a Fund for Portions of the Operations and Outreach Activities of the University of Maine Cooperative Extension Diagnostic and Research Laboratory
Fiscal Note for Bill as Engrossed with:
C "A" (H-554)
Committee: Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry
             
Fiscal Note
FY 2019-20 FY 2020-21 Projections  FY 2021-22 Projections  FY 2022-23
Appropriations/Allocations
Other Special Revenue Funds $110,000 $220,000 $226,600 $233,400
Revenue
Other Special Revenue Funds $110,000 $220,000 $226,600 $233,400
Transfers
Other Special Revenue Funds $0 $0 $0 $0
Fiscal Detail and Notes
The bill establishes a fee of $.15 on sales of containers of pesticide products registered by the Board of Pesticides Control and requires that revenue from the fee be deposited into a newly established Tick Laboratory and Pest Management Fund to be administered by the University of Maine.  Maine Revenue Services estimates this fee will generate $110,000 in fiscal year 2019-20 and $220,000 in fiscal year 2020-21. After distributions are made to the entities as detailed below, the net amount of revenue remaining in the fund is estimated to be $26,662 in fiscal year 2019-20 and $102,485 in fiscal year 2020-21 and the bill includes Other Special Revenue Funds allocations of those amounts to allow expenditures from the fund. 
The bill allows up to $40,000 annually be made available to the State tax Assessor for administrative costs associated with updating the sales tax return to accommodate the pesticide container fee. The bill includes a one-time Other Special Revenue Funds allocation of $16,000 in fiscal year 2019-20 to the Department of Administrative and Financial Services for this purpose.
The bill includes Other Special Revenue Funds allocations of $26,838 in fiscal year 2019-20 and $36,515 in fiscal year 2020-21 to the Board of Pesticides Control within the Department of Agriculture Conservation and Forestry for one half-time Office Associate II position to generate and maintain a list of registered pesticides.
The University of Maine Cooperative Extension will use a portion of the revenue generated for tick laboratory costs and pest management education. This bill includes Other Special Revenue Funds totaling $40,500 in fiscal year 2019-20 and $81,000 in fiscal year 2020-21 to the University of Maine Cooperative Extension within the University of Maine System for the initiatives.