Sec. L-1. 12 MRSA §7017, sub-§1-A is enacted to read:
1-A. Inflation adjustment. Beginning in fiscal year 2004-05, and every biennium thereafter, the commissioner may adjust any or all fees for licenses and permits and other fees collected by the department pursuant to this Part to maintain parity with the Consumer Price Index as defined in Title 36, section 5402, subsection 1. The adjustment must equal the percentage change in the annual average Consumer Price Index over the 2 most recent calendar years. The adjustment must then be rounded to yield a fee change to the closest 50¢.
Sec. L-2. 12 MRSA §7017, sub-§9, as enacted by PL 2001, c. 690, Pt. A, §1, is amended to read:
9. Fiscal Stability Program. The Fiscal Stability Program is established to ensure that the general public and hunters and anglers share the cost of the fish and wildlife conservation programs of the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. To achieve this goal, beginning with the 2004-2005 2006-2007 biennial budget and for each biennial budget thereafter, the biennial budget submitted by the executive branch must include a General Fund appropriation of 18% of the department's requested biennial budget. General Fund appropriations to the Fiscal Stability Program may not be considered to be amounts appropriated to the department under the Constitution of Maine, Article IX, Section 22.
Sec. L-3. 12 MRSA §7081 is enacted to read:
§7081. Temporary assessment on licenses, permits and registrations
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Part, an additional temporary assessment of $3 is imposed on every license, permit, application, registration or other fee pursuant to this Part that is issued for the registration periods beginning January 1, 2004 and January 1, 2005, except the additional temporary assessment for ATV registrations is $13 for residents and $30 for nonresidents. The additional temporary $3 assessments for snowmobile registrations and the $13 and $30 additional temporary assessments for ATV registrations are effective for the registration periods beginning on July 1, 2003 and July 1, 2004. Temporary assessments must be collected at the time a license, permit, application, registration or other fee is issued and credited in full to the department. This section is repealed on June 30, 2005.
Sec. L-4. 12 MRSA §7463-A, sub-§6, ¶B, as amended by PL 2001, c. 690, Pt. A, §11 and affected by §18, is further amended to read:
B. For nonresidents:
(1) Ten dollars for a one-chance application;
(2) Twenty dollars for a 3-chance application;
(3) Thirty dollars for a 6-chance application; and
(4) Fifty dollars for a 10-chance application.; multiple 10-chance options may be purchased. After June 30, 2005, a nonresident may not file more than one 10-chance application per year.
Sec. L-5. Fee restructuring. The Commissioner of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife shall develop a plan to restructure the fees associated with licenses, permits and other services of the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife for the purpose of achieving fairness and reducing the dependency of the department on other revenue sources. The plan must be delivered by March 31, 2003 to the Joint Standing Committee on Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, and the committee may report out legislation implementing the plan.
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