132nd MAINE LEGISLATURE
		LD 2141		LR 2854(02)
	An Act to Direct a Portion of Unclaimed Beverage Container Deposits to the Lake Water Quality Restoration and Protection Fund, the Maine Working Farmland Access and Protection Program and Public Defender Office Staffing
	Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment " "
	Committee: Environment and Natural Resources
	Fiscal Note Required: Yes
Fiscal Note
Current biennium impact - Highway Fund
			FY 2025-26	FY 2026-27	Projections  FY 2027-28	Projections  FY 2028-29
Appropriations/Allocations
	Other Special Revenue Funds		$0	$4,000,000	$4,000,000	$4,000,000
Revenue
	Other Special Revenue Funds		$0	$4,000,000	$4,000,000	$4,000,000
Fiscal Detail and Notes
	This bill includes ongoing Other Special Revenue Funds allocations of $427,035 to the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for 2 Environmental Specialist positions, one Environmental Specialist IV position, one Biologist I position and associated costs.
	The bill directs that $4,000,000 of unclaimed beverage container deposits retained by the commingling cooperative be returned to the State and distributed as follows: $2,000,000 to the Lake Water Quality Restoration and Protection Fund within the DEP and $2,000,000 to the Maine Working Farmland Access and Protection Program within the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry. The bill includes accompanying allocations to authorize expenditure of these funds. The bill also provides that, if expenditures related to unclaimed deposits exceed available resources, payments to the two funds may be reduced.
	The bill provides that unclaimed deposits for beverage containers managed by the Bureau of Alcoholic Beverages and Lottery Operations (BABLO) are retained by the bureau. This change would affect revenues within the spirits contract. In addition, BABLO’s participation in commingling activities, required under other provisions of law and whose fiscal interaction is affected by the changes in this bill, is expected to affect operating costs associated with the contract.  Under current law, distributions to the General Fund and Highway Fund are based on the net results of operations under the spirits contract. Because both revenues and expenditures within the contract would be affected by the changes in this bill, and the relative magnitude of those changes cannot be determined, the net effect on contract proceeds cannot be quantified.