124th MAINE LEGISLATURE
		LD 1399		LR 418(02)
	An Act Concerning Water Quality in Watersheds
	Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment "   "
	Committee: Natural Resources
	Fiscal Note Required: Yes
Fiscal Note
State Mandate - Unfunded
			2009-10	2010-11	Projections 2011-12	Projections 2012-13
Net Cost (Savings)
	General Fund		$0	$0	$0	$0
Appropriations/Allocations
	Other Special Revenue Funds		$314,615	$597,500	$597,500	$597,500
Revenue
	Other Special Revenue Funds		$314,615	$597,500	$597,500	$597,500
Transfers
	General Fund		$0	$0	$0	$0
	Other Special Revenue Funds		$0	$0	$0	$0
Correctional and Judicial Impact Statements
	Increases the number of civil suits. The collection of additional fines may also increase General Fund revenue by minor amounts.
State Mandates
	Required Activity				Unit Affected	Local Cost
	This bill requires municipalities to engage in additional administrative and clerical duties related to fee collection and remittance to the Treasurer of State.				Municipality Public Utility	Insignificant statewide
	The required local activities in this bill may represent a State mandate pursuant to the Constitution of Maine.  Unless General Fund appropriations are provided to fund at least 90% of the additional costs or a Mandate Preamble is amended to the bill and two-thirds of the members of each House vote to exempt this mandate from the funding requirement, municipalities may not be required to implement these changes.
Fiscal Detail and Notes
	This bill creates the Water Quality and Infrastructure Improvement Fund within the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) which is funded through license fees on recreational shellfish licenses, surcharges on the installation of new sewer systems, the municipal combined sewer overflow and overboard discharges and per ratepayer surcharges to sewer utilities.  It is estimated that the fees raised will be $314,615 in FY 2009-10 and $597,500 thereafter.  Beginning in fiscal year 2010-11, the bill transfers from the newly created fund to the Department of Marine Resources for one Marine Resource Scientist II position, two Marine Resource Scientist I positions and related administrative costs totaling $274,268 in FY 2010-11.  In fiscal year 2009-10, $198,824 is transferred from the unappropriated surplus of the General Fund to the Department of Marine Resources, with the amount repaid in the same year from revenues deposited to the new fund.
	The new fund will also provide grants to municipalities and other entities to identify and abate pollution in shellfish growing areas in the amount of $115,791 in FY 2009-10 and $323,232 in FY 2010-11. Additional costs to DEP associated with management of the fund can be absorbed within existing budgeted resources.