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PUBLIC LAWS OF MAINE
First Regular Session of the 121st

CHAPTER 333
H.P. 801 - L.D. 1083

An Act To Encourage Hunting by Simplifying Hunting Laws

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:

     Sec. 1. 12 MRSA §7001, sub-§§34 and 35, as enacted by PL 1979, c. 420, §1, are amended to read:

     34. Sunrise. "Sunrise" means the time computed and established for sunrise for Augusta Bangor, Maine, by the Nautical Almanac Office of the United States Naval Observatory, converted to the legal standard of time in force in this State on that day.

     35. Sunset. "Sunset" means the time computed and established for sunset for Augusta Bangor, Maine, by the Nautical Almanac Office of the United States Naval Observatory, converted to the legal standard of time in force in this State on that day.

     Sec. 2. 12 MRSA §7072, sub-§5 is enacted to read:

     5. Agent fee cap. A clerk or agent appointed by the commissioner under this section to issue licenses or permits may charge agent fees as provided in this Part up to a maximum of $6 during a single transaction. For purposes of this subsection, "transaction" means a single event in which one or more licenses or permits are issued to a person in that person's name.

     Sec. 3. 12 MRSA §7101-A is enacted to read:

§7101-A. Hunting without a license

     Notwithstanding section 7371, subsection 3, a person may assist in a hunt without a license or permit for that activity as long as that person does not carry hunting equipment or engage in driving deer as described in section 7458, subsection 10.

     Sec. 4. 12 MRSA §7102-A, sub-§6, ¶C, as amended by PL 2001, c. 387, §9, is further amended to read:

     Sec. 5. 12 MRSA §7406, sub-§5, as amended by PL 1991, c. 443, §23, is further amended to read:

     5. Night hunting. A Except as otherwise provided in this Part, a person is guilty of night hunting if that person may not:

     Sec. 6. 12 MRSA §7406, sub-§6, as amended by PL 1999, c. 457, §1, is repealed.

     Sec. 7. 12 MRSA §7406, sub-§10, as amended by PL 1999, c. 127, Pt. D, §1, is further amended to read:

     10. Illegal possession. A person is guilty of illegal possession of wild animals or wild birds if that person possesses any wild animal or wild bird taken in violation of subsection 4, 5, 6, 7, 9-A, 9-B, 13, 16 or 17 or Title 17-A, section 402, except as otherwise provided in chapters 701 to 721.

     Sec. 8. 12 MRSA §7406, sub-§13, as amended by PL 1983, c. 215, is further amended to read:

     13. Discharging firearm near dwelling. Unless a relevant municipal ordinance provides otherwise and except as provided in section sections 7501 and 7502, a person is guilty of discharging a firearm near a dwelling if he discharges may not discharge a firearm within 100 yards of a residential dwelling without the permission of the owner or, in his the owner's absence, of an adult occupant of that dwelling. Nothing in this subsection may be construed to prohibit a person from killing or taking a wild animal in accordance with sections 7501 and 7502.

     Sec. 9. 12 MRSA §7406, sub-§20, ¶A, as amended by PL 2001, c. 387, §20, is further amended to read:

     Sec. 10. 12 MRSA §7451, sub-§2, ¶B, as repealed and replaced by PL 1989, c. 913, Pt. A, §8, is repealed.

     Sec. 11. 12 MRSA §7451, sub-§3, ¶A, as amended by PL 1997, c. 432, §42, is further amended to read:

     Sec. 12. 12 MRSA §7452, sub-§4, as enacted by PL 1979, c. 420, §1, is amended to read:

     4. Exceeding bag limit on bears. Except as otherwise provided, a person is guilty of exceeding the bag limit on bears if he that person possesses more than one bear in any calendar year. A person may keep more than one legally obtained bear in that person's home at any time.

     Sec. 13. 12 MRSA §7452, sub-§5, as repealed and replaced by PL 1987, c. 587, is amended to read:

     5. Hunting or trapping bear near dumps. The commissioner, or the commissioner's agent, shall establish a line of demarcation at least 200 500 yards from sites permitted or licensed for the disposal of solid waste. A person is guilty of hunting or trapping bear near dumps if that person hunts, traps, molests or harasses bear or releases may not hunt, trap, molest or harass a bear or release dogs for the purpose of hunting bear within this area. The commissioner, or the commissioner's agent, is exempt from this prohibition for the purpose of live trapping nuisance bears.

     Sec. 14. 12 MRSA §7452, sub-§8, as amended by PL 1999, c. 403, §20, is repealed.

     Sec. 15. 12 MRSA §7452, sub-§12, as amended by PL 1999, c. 322, §1, is repealed.

     Sec. 16. 12 MRSA §7457, sub-§2, ¶B, as enacted by PL 1979, c. 420, §1, is repealed.

     Sec. 17. 12 MRSA §7458, sub-§1, as enacted by PL 1979, c. 420, §1, is amended to read:

     1. Exceeding bag limit. A person is guilty of exceeding the bag limit on deer if he that person possesses more than one deer during any open season, except as otherwise provided. A person may keep more than one legally obtained deer in that person's home at any time.

     Sec. 18. 12 MRSA §7458, sub-§8, as repealed and replaced by PL 1993, c. 438, §31, is repealed.

     Sec. 19. 12 MRSA §7458, sub-§15, ¶C, as enacted by PL 1979, c. 420, §1, is repealed.

     Sec. 20. 12 MRSA §7463-A, sub-§9, as enacted by PL 1981, c. 118, §2, is amended to read:

     9. Bag limit. The bag limit is one moose per permit holder. In the case of a permittee and a subpermittee, the permit shall allow allows one of them to take one moose. Except as provided in sections 7501 and 7502, a person may not shoot more than one moose in a calendar year. A person may keep more than one legally obtained moose in that person's home at any time.

     Sec. 21. 12 MRSA §7464, sub-§7, as amended by PL 1993, c. 438, §34, is repealed.

     Sec. 22. 12 MRSA §7464, sub-§8, as enacted by PL 1979, c. 723, §20, is repealed.

     Sec. 23. 12 MRSA §7472 is enacted to read:

§7472.   Possession of a gift bear, deer, moose or wild turkey

     A person may not, except as provided in section 7531 and notwithstanding the provisions of section 7452, subsection 13, possess any part or parts of a bear, deer, moose or wild turkey given to that person unless that gift bear, deer, moose or wild turkey is labeled with the name of the person who registered it and the year the animal was registered by that person.

     Sec. 24. 12 MRSA §7901-A, sub-§6, ¶C, as amended by PL 2001, c. 655, §18 and c. 667, Pt. B, §10, is repealed and the following enacted in its place:

Effective September 13, 2003, unless otherwise indicated.

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