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STATE OF MAINE
_____
IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD
TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-THREE
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S.P. 70 - L.D. 131
An Act to Clarify and Correct Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Laws
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 12 MRSA §10107-A, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 381, §3, is repealed.
Sec. 2. 12 MRSA §10206, sub-§11, as enacted by PL 2015, c. 245, §1, is amended
to read:
11. Species Fish and Wildlife Management Education Fund. The department shall
deposit $1 of every hunting license and trapping license fee collected pursuant to sections
11109, 11109‑A and 12201 in a separate account within the department, to be known as
the Species Fish and Wildlife Management Education Fund. The fund is nonlapsing. The
department shall use money in the fund on an annual basis to educate the public on the
management of game species of fish and wildlife and to communicate with the public about
department programs. The department may contract with a private entity to provide this
education. Education provided pursuant to this section must may include information about
how hunting and fishing helps help to manage specific species. The department may
continue its activities pursuant to this subsection during ballot initiative campaigns
concerning fish and wildlife issues.
Sec. 3. 12 MRSA §10260, as corrected by RR 2015, c. 1, §6, is amended to read:
§10260. Black Bear Research and Management Fund
The Black Bear Research and Management Fund, referred to in this section as "the
fund," is established within the department as a nonlapsing fund to be used by the
commissioner to fund or assist in funding studies related to research on and the
management of black bears. Revenue from the nonresident late season bear hunting permit
under section 11151‑A and the bear trapping permit under section 12260‑A must be
deposited in the fund. The commissioner may accept and deposit into the fund monetary
gifts, donations or other contributions from public or private sources for the purposes
specified in this section. The fund must be held separate and apart from all other money,
funds and accounts.
Sec. 4. 12 MRSA §10703, sub-§7, ¶D, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 414, Pt. A, §2
and affected by c. 614, §9, is amended to read:
APPROVED
JUNE 20, 2023
BY GOVERNOR
CHAPTER
228
PUBLIC LAW Page 2 - 131LR0098(03)
D. The failure of a person to comply with the duty to submit to and complete a
chemical test under section 10702, subsection 1 is admissible in evidence on the issue
of whether that person was under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs. If the
law enforcement officer having probable cause to believe that the person hunted wild
animals or wild birds or operated or attempted to operate a watercraft, snowmobile or
ATV while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs fails to give either of the
warnings required under subsection 2, the failure of the person to comply with the duty
to submit to a chemical test is not admissible, except when a test was required pursuant
to subsection 11. If a failure to submit to and complete a chemical test is not admitted
into evidence, the court may inform the jury of the fact that a test result is not available.
Sec. 5. 12 MRSA §10703, sub-§11, as amended by PL 2011, c. 253, §8, is repealed.
Sec. 6. 12 MRSA §10853, sub-§8, as amended by PL 2017, c. 164, §5, is further
amended to read:
8. Members of federally recognized Indian nation, band or tribe. The
commissioner shall issue a hunting, trapping and fishing license, including an archery
hunting license under this chapter, and including all permits, stamps and other permission
needed to hunt, trap and fish, to a person who is an enrolled member of the Passamaquoddy
Tribe, the Penobscot Nation, the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians or the Aroostook Band
of Micmacs that is valid for the life of that person without any charge or fee pursuant to
section 11109, if the person presents certification from the respective appropriate
reservation chief or governor or the Aroostook Micmac Council stating that the person
described is an enrolled member of a federally recognized Indian nation, band or tribe listed
in this subsection. Holders of these licenses are subject to this Part, including, but not
limited to, a lottery or drawing system for issuing a particular license or permit. Members
of a federally recognized Indian nation, band or tribe listed in this subsection are exempt
from the trapper evaluation education program required for a license under section 12201,
the bear trapping education course required by section 12260-A, subsection 4 and the
archery hunter education course under section 11106. A license holder under this
subsection who qualifies to hunt during the special season on deer under section 11153 and
who meets the eligibility requirements of section 11106 must have included in that person's
license one antlerless deer permit and one either-sex permit.
Sec. 7. 12 MRSA §11109-A, sub-§2-A, as amended by PL 2021, c. 599, §8, is
repealed and the following enacted in its place:
2-A. Antlerless deer permit.
pack license holder to obtain an antlerless deer permit.
A. In a wildlife management district in which the commissioner issues at least 2,000
antlerless deer permits, the commissioner may allocate up to 2.5% of those antlerless
deer permits to super pack license holders. The commissioner shall award to successful
applicants an antlerless deer permit as described under section 11152, valid for use
only in a designated district.
B. In order to receive a super pack antlerless deer permit, a super pack licensee must
apply through the antlerless deer permit lottery. If the applicant receives a super pack
antlerless deer permit in accordance with paragraph A, the applicant may claim the
permit at no cost. If the applicant receives but does not claim the permit, the applicant
forfeits the permit. If the applicant does not receive a super pack antlerless deer permit Page 3 - 131LR0098(03)
in accordance with paragraph A, the applicant is eligible to receive an antlerless deer
permit by means of the antlerless deer permit lottery as described in section 11152 and
if received may claim and pay for the antlerless deer permit. The applicant may
purchase an antlerless deer permit over the counter.
Sec. 8. 12 MRSA §11109-A, sub-§3, as amended by PL 2023, c. 49, §1 and
affected by §3, is further amended to read:
3. Harvest of 6 deer Deer harvest authorizations. Notwithstanding section 11501,
a super pack license authorizes the holder to take:
A. One deer during either the regular open firearm season or the regular archery season
or the special muzzle-loading season in accordance with sections 11401, 11403 and
11404, respectively; and
B. One deer in accordance with subsection 2‑A, paragraph A; and
C. Three antlerless deer and one deer of either sex during the special archery season
in accordance with section 11402, subsection 4.
Sec. 9. 12 MRSA §11552, first ¶, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 414, Pt. A, §2 and
affected by c. 614, §9, is amended to read:
Rules adopted under this section are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter
375, subchapter 2‑A. The commissioner shall report to the joint standing committee of the
Legislature having jurisdiction over wildlife matters by February 1st of each year on
proposed actions under this section.
Sec. 10. 12 MRSA §12260-A, sub-§4,
affected by §13, is amended by enacting a new 2nd blocked paragraph to read:
A person who is an enrolled member of the Passamaquoddy Tribe, the Penobscot Nation,
the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians or the Aroostook Band of Micmacs who presents
certification from the appropriate reservation chief or governor or the Aroostook Micmac
Council stating that the person is an enrolled member of a federally recognized Indian
nation, band or tribe listed in this paragraph is exempt from this subsection.
Sec. 11. 12 MRSA §12501, sub-§6, ¶B, as amended by PL 2009, c. 213, Pt. OO,
§11, is further amended to read:
B. A resident combination hunting and fishing license is $42 $43.
Sec. 12. 12 MRSA §12501, sub-§6, ¶C,
§11, is further amended to read:
C. A resident combination archery hunting and fishing license is $42 $43.
Sec. 13. 12 MRSA §13068-A, sub-§4, ¶A, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 655, Pt. B,
§380 and affected by §422, is amended by amending subparagraph (3) to read:
(3) Fails to wear a Coast Guard approved Type I, Type II or Type III personal
flotation device while canoeing or kayaking on the Saco River between Hiram Dam
and the Atlantic Ocean between January 1st and June 1st; or
Sec. 14. 12 MRSA §13068-A, sub-§4, ¶A, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 655, Pt. B,
§380 and affected by §422, is amended by amending subparagraph (4) to read: Page 4 - 131LR0098(03)
(4) Fails to wear a Coast Guard approved Type I, Type II, Type III or Type V
personal flotation device while operating a watercraft on:
(a) The Penobscot River, between the gorge and the head of Big Eddy; or
(b) The Kennebec River, between Harris Station and Turtle Island, at the foot
of Black Brook Rapids.
Sec. 15. 12 MRSA §13071-A, sub-§2, ¶A, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 655, Pt. B,
§384 and affected by §422, is amended by amending subparagraph (1) to read:
(1) Operate or be a passenger on a personal watercraft unless the person is wearing
a Coast Guard approved Type I, Type II or Type III personal flotation devices
device; or
Sec. 16. 12 MRSA §13152, sub-§2, as repealed and replaced by PL 2005, c. 397,
Pt. E, §17, is amended by amending the first blocked paragraph to read:
A person under 16 years of age must attend the training program with that person's parent
or guardian. The training program must include instruction on the safe operation of ATVs,
the laws pertaining to ATVs, the effect of ATVs on the environment and ways to minimize
that effect, courtesy to landowners and other recreationists and landowners and other
materials as determined by the department.
Sec. 17. Effective date.
Revised Statutes, Title 12, section 11109-A, subsection 2-A and that section of this Act
that amends Title 12, section 11109-A, subsection 3 take effect January 1, 2024.