An Act To Cap Certain Marine Resources Licenses Issued by the Passamaquoddy Tribe
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 12 MRSA §6302-A, sub-§3, ¶¶D and E, as amended by PL 2011, c. 598, §17, are further amended to read:
D. The Penobscot Nation may not issue to members of the nation more than and the Passamaquoddy Tribe may each issue to its members up to 20 commercial licenses for the taking of scallops in any calendar year, except that the commissioner shall by rule allow the Penobscot Nation and the Passamaquoddy Tribe to issue additional commercial licenses to members of the nation or tribe for the taking of scallops if the commissioner determines that scallop resources are sufficient to permit the issuance of new licenses;
E. The Penobscot Nation may not issue to members of the nation more than and the Passamaquoddy Tribe may each issue to its members up to 8 commercial licenses for the taking of elvers in any calendar year, except that the commissioner shall by rule allow the Penobscot Nation and the Passamaquoddy Tribe to issue additional commercial licenses to members of the nation or tribe for the taking of elvers if the commissioner determines that elver resources are sufficient to permit the issuance of new licenses; and
Sec. 2. 12 MRSA §6302-A, sub-§11 is enacted to read:
11. Renewal of licenses. If a holder of a license issued under this section fails to provide information required under section 6173, the license may not be renewed until the holder complies with the requirements of that section.
summary
This bill limits the Passamaquoddy Tribe's issuance of scallop licenses to 20 licenses and the issuance of elver licenses to 8 licenses, which provides parity with the Penobscot Nation. The bill also creates parity between all tribal or nation licenses issued pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 12, section 6302-A and those issued by the Department of Marine Resources by restricting the renewal of licenses for noncompliance with reporting requirements.