Sec. U-1. 12 MRSA §685-E, first ¶, as enacted by PL 1991, c. 528, Pt. LL, §1 and affected by Pt. RRR and enacted by c. 591, Pt. LL, §1, is amended to read:
Notwithstanding section 685-D, beginning with fiscal year
1991-922005-06, funding for planning services and activities of the commission must be assessed and allocated to the unorganized territory in an amount not to exceed10%18% of the total General Fund appropriation to the commission.Sec. U-2. 12 MRSA §9326 is enacted to read:
§9326. Pilot project for issuing permits electronically
The Director of the Bureau of Forestry shall develop or cause to be developed a system to electronically issue permits for burning using a publicly accessible site on the Internet. Beginning July 1, 2005, the director may issue permits electronically for burning within the unorganized territory and within the southernmost region of the 3 geographic regions of the State established in accordance with section 8906. For the purposes of this section, the unorganized territory and the southernmost region are referred to as "the pilot region."
The system developed under this section for electronically issuing permits must provide a fire warden with the ability to change the criteria for issuing a permit in a municipality except for times when the director imposes more restrictive criteria or a ban on the issuance of permits.
Beginning July 1, 2005, a person may apply for a permit to burn within the pilot region using the Internet or as otherwise provided in this article. When a person applies for and is issued a permit electronically using the Internet, a fee of $7 must be paid. From the $7 fee, $6 must be deposited in the General Fund and the remainder of $1 must be used to cover administrative costs.
Sec. U-3. Report. No later than February 1, 2006, the Commissioner of Conservation shall provide the Joint Standing Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry with a preliminary report on the pilot project for issuing burn permits electronically authorized under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 12, section 9326. No later than February 1, 2007, the Commissioner of Conservation shall submit a report to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over forestry matters on the pilot project, including information on the number of permits issued electronically, the number issued electronically as a percent of total permits issued in the pilot region and the revenue generated and costs associated with the electronic issuance of permits. The commissioner shall include recommendations for the continuance, discontinuance or expansion of the program.
Sec. U-4. Additional revenue. The Department of Conservation, Bureau of Parks and Lands shall impose a $1 increase in the adult day-use fee charged at state parks that provide lifeguard coverage. This fee increase is expected to increase General Fund undedicated revenue by $264,490 in each year of the biennium.
Sec. U-5. Additional revenue. Demonstration forestry activities employed by the Department of Conservation, Bureau of Parks and Lands are expected to increase General Fund undedicated revenue by $200,000 in fiscal year 2005-06 and $300,000 in fiscal year 2006-07.
Sec. U-6. Report. No later than November 15, 2005, the Commissioner of Conservation shall provide the Joint Standing Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry and the Joint Standing Committee on Appropriations and Financial Affairs with a detailed plan regarding the demonstration forestry activities that will be employed by the Department of Conservation to generate the additional General Fund revenues specified in section 5 of this Part. The commissioner shall report to both committees on an ongoing basis on any plans of the department to generate additional General Fund revenue from any demonstration forestry activity.
Sec. U-7. Appropriations and allocations. The following appropriations and allocations are made.
CONSERVATION, DEPARTMENT OF
Parks - General Operations 0221
Initiative: Provides additional funding for the maintenance of state parks.
GENERAL FUND 2005-06 2006-07
All Other $132,245 $132,245
__________ __________
GENERAL FUND TOTAL $132,245 $132,245
Land Use Regulation Commission 0236
Initiative: Appropriates funds for 2 additional Senior Planner positions.
GENERAL FUND 2005-06 2006-07
Positions - Legislative Count 2.000 2.000
Personal Services $133,722 $143,626
All Other $10,000 $10,000
__________ __________
GENERAL FUND TOTAL $143,722 $153,626
CONSERVATION, DEPARTMENT OF
DEPARTMENT TOTALS 2005-06 2006-07
GENERAL FUND $275,967 $285,871
__________ __________
DEPARTMENT TOTAL -
ALL FUNDS $275,967 $285,871
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