S.P. 262 - L.D. 757
Mandate preamble. This measure requires one or more local units of government to expand or modify activities so as to necessitate additional expenditures from local revenues but does not provide funding for at least 90% of those expenditures. Pursuant to the Constitution of Maine, Article IX, Section 21, two thirds of all of the members elected to each House have determined it necessary to enact this measure.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 12 MRSA §6671, sub-§3, as repealed and replaced by PL 1989, c. 257, §3, is amended to read:
3. Shellfish conservation ordinance. Within any area of the municipality, a shellfish conservation ordinance may regulate or prohibit the possession of shellfish; may fix the amount of shellfish that may be taken; may provide for enforcement, protection and evaluation of a green crab fencing program; and may authorize the municipal officers officials to open and close flats under specified conditions. An ordinance shall must limit the size of soft-shell clams in accordance with article 5. Except as provided in section 6621, subsection 3, paragraph C, a program or ordinance may not allow surveying, sampling or harvesting of shellfish in areas closed by regulation of the commissioner.
Sec. 2. 12 MRSA §6671, sub-§3-A, ¶G is enacted to read:
G. A municipality that issues recreational licenses to residents shall also make available to nonresidents recreational licenses in a number that is not less than 10% of the number of recreational licenses issued to residents. When 2 or more municipalities have entered into a regional shellfish management agreement and those municipalities issue recreational licenses to residents pursuant to the agreement, the combined total number of recreational licenses made available to nonresidents must be a number not less than 10% of the combined total number of recreational licenses issued to residents.
For the purposes of this paragraph, the term "recreational license" means a license that authorizes a person to take or possess shellfish only for personal use.
Sec. 3. 12 MRSA §6671, sub-§4, ¶A, as repealed and replaced by PL 1991, c. 390, §5, is amended to read:
A. Prior to adopting an ordinance, a municipality or unorganized township shall raise or appropriate money for a shellfish conservation program within the 2 previous years.
Sec. 4. 12 MRSA §6671, sub-§4, ¶B, as amended by PL 1997, c. 247, §2, is further amended to read:
B. Any An ordinance proposed by a municipality or unorganized territory under this section must be approved in writing by the commissioner prior to its adoption, except that the commissioner may not withhold approval based on the amount of license fees specified in an ordinance.
Sec. 5. 12 MRSA §6671, sub-§4-B, as enacted by PL 1985, c. 52, §2, is amended to read:
4-B. Management program approval. The commissioner may promulgate regulations adopt rules that set the criteria which that must be met by municipal shellfish conservation programs and ordinances in order to obtain approval by the commissioner.
Sec. 6. 12 MRSA §6671, sub-§8, ¶C, as amended by PL 1991, c. 242, §3, is further amended to read:
C. A certified municipal shellfish conservation warden shall enforce the shellfish ordinances of the municipality employing the warden and, if the warden is authorized by the municipality and meets the training requirements of Title 25, chapter 341, may arrest all violators. The warden may serve all process pertaining to the ordinance. The warden also has, within that warden's jurisdiction, the powers of a marine patrol officer provided in section 6025, subsection 4. All of the powers conferred in this subsection are limited to the enforcement of a municipal shellfish conservation ordinance.
At the commissioner's request, a certified municipal shellfish conservation warden may collect samples and otherwise assist the department in the detection of pollutants and contaminants. The commissioner is not required to conduct tests on samples not requested by the commissioner.
Sec. 7. 12 MRSA §6671, sub-§11 is enacted to read:
11. Certificate as evidence. A certificate of the clerk of the municipality or any other custodian of the records of a municipal shellfish conservation ordinance adopted under this section stating what the records of the municipality show is admissible as evidence in all courts as proof of the municipal records. A certificate stating that the records do not show that a person held a license is prima facie evidence that the person did not hold the license on the date specified in the certificate. A certificate stating that the records show that a shellfish conservation ordinance or portions of an ordinance were in effect on a particular date is prima facie evidence that the ordinance was in effect on the date specified in the certificate. The certified copy is admissible in evidence on the testimony of a municipal shellfish conservation warden that the warden received the certificate after requesting it from the municipality. Further foundation is not necessary for the admission of the certificate.
Sec. 8. Retroactivity. This Act is retroactive to January 1, 1999.
Effective September 18, 1999, unless otherwise indicated.
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