‘An Act To Extend the Term of Guide Licenses and Amend the License Revocation Laws’
| SP0619 LD 1683 |
Session - 128th Maine Legislature C "A", Filing Number S-396, Sponsored by
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LR 2646 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 Extend the Term of Guide Licenses and Amend the License Revocation Laws’
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the title and before the summary and inserting the following:
‘Emergency preamble. Whereas, acts and resolves of the Legislature do not become effective until 90 days after adjournment unless enacted as emergencies; and
Whereas, the current background check requirement for guides and applicants for guide licenses is costly and burdensome; and
Whereas, immediately implementing a penalty for failing to report behavior that is the basis for denial, suspension or revocation of a guide license will ensure that guides are adequately responsible for the safety of their clients; and
Whereas, the changes implemented by this legislation need to go into effect before spring and summer tourism and recreation begin; and
Whereas, in the judgment of the Legislature, these facts create an emergency within the meaning of the Constitution of Maine and require the following legislation as immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety; now, therefore,
Sec. 1. 12 MRSA §10908, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2017, c. 204, §1, is further amended to read:
(1) A person whose license is revoked, suspended or denied under this paragraph may request a hearing before the commissioner. Following the hearing, the commissioner may issue a guide license or reinstate a guide license that has been revoked, suspended or denied if the commissioner determines that the applicant has been sufficiently rehabilitated from the conviction to warrant the public trust or the nature of the conviction or the circumstances surrounding it do not warrant disqualification from licensure. The request for a hearing under this paragraph must be made within 30 days of receipt of the revocation, suspension or denial of the guide license . ; or
(2) An applicant for a guide license or the holder of a guide license must notify the department of a conviction or a finding of not criminally responsible that is grounds under this paragraph for the revocation, suspension or denial of a guide license within 30 days of the conviction or finding. Failure to notify the department is grounds for a permanent denial or revocation of a guide license.
Sec. 2. 12 MRSA §10908, sub-§3 is enacted to read:
Sec. 3. 12 MRSA §12853, sub-§5, as amended by PL 2005, c. 12, Pt. III, §30, is further amended to read:
Sec. 4. 12 MRSA §12853, sub-§6, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 414, Pt. A, §2 and affected by c. 614, §9, is repealed and the following enacted in its place:
Sec. 5. Effective date. Those sections of this Act that amend the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 12, section 12853, subsections 5 and 6 take effect January 1, 2019.
Emergency clause. In view of the emergency cited in the preamble, this legislation takes effect when approved.’
SUMMARY
This amendment replaces the bill, which creates an exception to the background check requirement for certain applicants for guide licenses. Like the bill, the amendment extends the term of a guide license from 3 years to 5 years, and it correspondingly increases the fee for a guide license from $81 to $135; however, unlike the bill, those changes take effect January 1, 2019. The amendment establishes a Class E crime for failing to notify the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife of a conviction or a finding of not criminally responsible that is grounds for the revocation, suspension or denial of a guide license within 30 days of the conviction or finding and provides that failure to notify is grounds for permanent revocation or denial of a guide license.