130th MAINE LEGISLATURE
		LD 210		LR 1289(02)
	An Act To Require Crane Operators To Be Licensed
	Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment " "
	Committee: Innovation, Development, Economic Advancement and Business
	Fiscal Note Required: Yes
Fiscal Note
			FY 2021-22	FY 2022-23	Projections  FY 2023-24	Projections  FY 2024-25
Net Cost (Savings)
	General Fund		$489,879	$0	$0	$0
Appropriations/Allocations
	Other Special Revenue Funds		$687,011	$869,176	$917,655	$957,610
Revenue
	Other Special Revenue Funds		$233,172	$1,622,625	$1,850,400	$0
Transfers
	General Fund		($489,879)	$0	$0	$0
	Other Special Revenue Funds		$489,879	$0	$0	$0
Fiscal Detail and Notes
	This bill establishes the Board of Licensure for Crane Operators as a new board affiliated with the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation to provide regulatory oversight and licensing of crane operators and requires all crane operators to be licensed by January 1, 2023.  This bill includes ongoing Other Special Revenue Funds allocations totaling $687,011 in fiscal year 2021-22 and $869,176 in fiscal year 2022-23 to a newly created Board of Licensure for Crane Operators program for the initial and ongoing costs of operating the board.
	Of this amount, $665,609 is allocated in fiscal year 2021-22 and $866,472 is allocated in fiscal year 2022-23 for one Office Specialist II position, one Senior Electrical Inspector position, 5 Electrical Inspector positions, one half-time Consumer Assistant and Hearing Coordinator position and related All Other costs, as well as per diem costs for 7 board members, to establish and operate the new board.  Additionally, $21,402 and $2,704 is allocated in fiscal years 2021-22 and 2022-23, respectively, to the Administrative Services Division (ASD) to update the Agency Licensing Management System for the licensure of crane operators and for ongoing maintenance and support.  The board will need to transfer funds to the ASD to cover these costs along with an additional $9,000 for other administrative support services that will be provided to the board.
	This legislation requires crane operators to be licensed by January 1, 2023 and provides that licenses expire on the last day of December of each odd-numbered year.  It requires the board to adopt rules establishing a fee for the application for licensure.  This fiscal note assumes that licensing fees will be set at a level sufficient to support the costs of the board.  However, because sufficient dedicated revenue from licensing fees will not be available to support the initial start-up costs, estimated to be $489,879 for the first 6 months of operation, this bill includes language that requires the State controller to transfer that amount from the unappropriated surplus of the General Fund to the Board of Licensure for Crane Operators no later than October 1, 2021.  This will be enough to carry the board until April 1, 2022 when the board will be ready to accept applications.
	After the first year, application fees must produce 2 years of revenue due to licenses expiring at the end of each odd-numbered year.  The department estimates the fee will need to be set at $7,200 in order to cover the operating costs of the board.  It is anticipated that approximately 32 of the 257 total crane operators in the State will need to apply for a license almost immediately to provide the board with the $230,400 in dedicated revenue needed to cover expenses through the end of fiscal year 2022.  If the remaining 225 operators apply for their initial licenses from July through December of 2022, additional revenue to the board will be $1,620,000.  Because licenses will expire in December 2023, revenue from license renewal is estimated to be $1,850,400 in fiscal year 2023-24.  Licenses will not be renewed again until December 2025.