APPROVED CHAPTER
JANUARY 5, 2022 491
BY GOVERNOR PUBLIC LAW
STATE OF MAINE
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IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD
TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-TWO
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H.P. 275 - L.D. 391
An Act To Reestablish the Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative
Emergency preamble. Whereas, acts and resolves of the Legislature do not
become effective until 90 days after adjournment unless enacted as emergencies; and
Whereas, Public Law 2021, chapter 58 extended the repeal date of the law that
established the Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative from October 1, 2021 to October
1, 2026; and
Whereas, because Public Law 2021, chapter 58 took effect October 18, 2021, the law
that established the Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative was repealed; and
Whereas, in the judgment of the Legislature, these facts create an emergency within
the meaning of the Constitution of Maine and require the following legislation as
immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety; now,
therefore,
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 5 MRSA §12004-H, sub-§14-A is enacted to read:
14-A.
Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative $55 Per Diem Plus 12 MRSA §6455-A
Expenses
This subsection is repealed December 31, 2026.
Sec. 2. 12 MRSA §6455-A is enacted to read:
§6455-A. Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative
1. Collaborative established; purpose. The Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative,
established in Title 5, section 12004-H, subsection 14-A and referred to in this subchapter
as “the collaborative,” is created to promote and market actively Maine lobsters in state,
regional, national and international markets. The collaborative shall draw upon the
expertise of the Maine lobster industry and established private marketing firms to identify
market areas that will provide the greatest return on the investments made by lobster license
holders and undertake those media or promotional efforts that represent the most cost-
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effective use of a limited promotional budget. The collaborative shall remain responsive to
the Maine lobster industry, conduct its business in a public manner and undertake
marketing efforts that promote the quality and full utilization of the product and the unique
character of the coastal Maine lobster fishery.
2. Collaborative is a public instrumentality. The collaborative is established as a
public instrumentality serving a public purpose. Accordingly:
A. Employees of the collaborative may not be construed to be state employees for any
purpose, including the state civil service provisions of Title 5, Part 2 and Title 5,
chapter 372 and the state retirement system provisions of Title 5, Part 20;
B. The collaborative may not be construed to be a state agency for any purposes,
including the budget, accounts and control, auditing, purchasing or other provisions of
Title 5, Part 4; and
C. Notwithstanding any provisions of paragraphs A and B:
(1) All meetings and records of the collaborative are subject to the provisions of
Title 1, chapter 13, subchapter 1, except as provided in subsection 3. The
commissioner and those members of the Legislature appointed to serve on the joint
standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over marine resources
matters have access to all material designated confidential by the collaborative;
(2) Members of the collaborative are governed by the conflict of interest provisions
set forth in Title 5, section 18; and
(3) For the purposes of the Maine Tort Claims Act, the collaborative is a
“governmental entity” and its employees are “employees” as those terms are
defined in Title 14, section 8102.
3. Market studies and promotional plans; proprietary information. Information
provided to or developed by the collaborative and included in a promotional plan or market
study is public unless the collaborative determines that it contains proprietary information.
For the purposes of this subsection, “proprietary information” means information that is a
trade secret or production, commercial or financial information the disclosure of which
would impair the competitive position of the collaborative or the person submitting the
information and would make available information not otherwise publicly available.
4. Collaborative members; appointments; terms. The collaborative consists of 11
voting members, 9 appointed by the commissioner as follows:
A. Four individuals representing the lobster management policy councils established
pursuant to section 6447. Each lobster management policy council shall prepare a list
of up to 3 nominees from its zone for consideration by the commissioner for the
appointments under this paragraph. In making appointments under this paragraph, the
commissioner shall select members to ensure a geographic distribution of
representation from lobster management zones established pursuant to section 6446;
B. Three individuals:
(1) At least 2 of whom are owners, managers or officers of business entities
operating in the State that hold valid wholesale seafood licenses with lobster
permits, from a list of nominees prepared for the commissioner by the Lobster
Advisory Council established under section 6462-A; and
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 (2) At least one of whom represents the interests of lobster dealers and processors;
and
C. Two individuals who are public members with experience in marketing and
promotion, retail sales, food service or food science, from a list of nominees prepared
for the commissioner by the Lobster Advisory Council established under section
6462-A.
Members are appointed by the commissioner for terms of 3 years. A person may not serve
more than 2 consecutive 3-year terms as a member of the collaborative.
The commissioner or the commissioner's designee serves as an ex officio member of the
collaborative. The Commissioner of Economic and Community Development or the
commissioner's designee serves as an ex officio member of the collaborative.
5. Officers. By majority vote, the collaborative shall annually elect a chair from among
its members and may elect other officers in accordance with its bylaws.
6. Executive committee. The collaborative shall establish an executive committee of
no fewer than 5 members, who are appointed by a majority vote of the collaborative. The
collaborative shall specify in its bylaws when the executive committee may act on behalf
of the collaborative with regard to oversight of collaborative staff, daily operations of the
collaborative and addressing unexpected expenditures to be made by the collaborative. The
bylaws must specify what constitutes a quorum of the executive committee and how many
votes are necessary for the executive committee to take a valid action. In addition to any
other restrictions adopted by the collaborative, the executive committee may not act on
behalf of the collaborative to:
A. Adopt or amend an annual budget;
B. Adopt or amend an annual marketing plan;
C. Hire or terminate the employment of the executive director of the collaborative; or
D. Amend the bylaws of the collaborative.
7. Meetings. The collaborative shall meet at least quarterly. A quorum of 6 members
is required to conduct the business of the collaborative. Additional meetings may be called
by the chair. If 3 or more members of the collaborative submit to the chair a written request
for a meeting, the chair shall call a meeting to be held no sooner than 14 days after receipt
of the written request. The commissioner may remove any member with unexcused
absences from 2 or more consecutive meetings of the collaborative.
8. Employees. The collaborative shall hire an executive director and may hire staff as
needed to perform its duties. Employees of the collaborative serve at the pleasure of the
collaborative. The salary and benefits for employees of the collaborative are determined by
the collaborative.
9. Powers and duties. The collaborative may:
A. Undertake promotional marketing programs in cooperation with the lobster
industry;
B. Promote national and international markets for lobsters harvested or processed in
the State;
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 C. Provide material and technical assistance to persons seeking to market lobsters
harvested or processed in the State;
D. Conduct other efforts as determined necessary to increase the sales of lobsters
harvested or processed in the State;
E. Market and sell goods directly related to the functions of the collaborative and
deposit all proceeds in the fund;
F. Make expenditures from the fund to carry out the purposes of this subchapter. Money
in the fund may be used only for the following purposes:
(1) Promotion, advertising and marketing development. The collaborative may
implement programs and activities to promote, advertise and develop markets for
lobster and make or enter into contracts with any local, state, federal or private
agency, department, firm, corporation, entity or person for those purposes; and
(2) The hiring of staff and the payment of compensation for employees, payment
of per diem and reimbursement of expenses for members pursuant to Title 5,
section 12004-H, subsection 14-A and payment of administrative and overhead
costs associated with the business of the collaborative; and
G. Accept and deposit in the fund additional funding from any source, public or private.
10. Lobster Promotion Fund established. The Lobster Promotion Fund, referred to
in this subchapter as “the fund,” is established to carry out the purposes of this subchapter.
The department shall pay to the fund all money appropriated or received by the department
for the purposes of this subchapter, except that the department may retain funds necessary
to reimburse the department for the actual cost of collecting the license surcharges
established in subsection 11. The fund is capitalized from the annual surcharges set out in
subsection 11.
11. License surcharge assessed. The fund is capitalized from annual surcharges
assessed on licenses issued by the department as follows.
A. For a Class I lobster and crab fishing license held by a person 18 to 69 years of age,
the surcharge is $165.25.
B. For a Class II lobster and crab fishing license, the surcharge is $330.50, except that
for a license holder 70 years of age or older, the surcharge is $165.
C. For a Class III lobster and crab fishing license, the surcharge is $480.75, except that
for a license holder 70 years of age or older, the surcharge is $240.
D. For a nonresident lobster and crab landing permit, the surcharge is $480.75.
E. For a wholesale seafood license with a lobster permit if the license holder holds no
supplemental wholesale seafood license with a lobster permit or for a lobster
transportation license if the license holder holds no supplemental lobster transportation
license, the surcharge is $1,200.
F. Surcharges for supplemental wholesale seafood licenses with lobster permits or
supplemental lobster transportation licenses are as follows:
(1) For up to 2 supplemental wholesale seafood licenses with lobster permits or
supplemental lobster transportation licenses, the surcharge is $1,800;
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 (2) For 3 to 5 supplemental wholesale seafood licenses with lobster permits or
supplemental lobster transportation licenses, the surcharge is $2,400; and
(3) For 6 or more supplemental wholesale seafood licenses with lobster permits or
supplemental lobster transportation licenses, the surcharge is $3,000.
G. For a lobster processor license, the surcharge is $1,000 if less than 1,000,000
pounds of raw product is processed and $4,000 if 1,000,000 pounds or more of raw
product is processed.
A person holding more than one of the following licenses is assessed only the highest
applicable surcharge for those licenses under this subsection: a wholesale seafood license
with a lobster permit, a supplemental wholesale seafood license with a lobster permit, a
lobster transportation license or a supplemental lobster transportation license.
The commissioner shall review annually the surcharges established in this subsection and
recommend changes to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction
over marine resources matters, which after receiving the recommendations may report out
a bill to the Legislature to adjust the surcharges.
The Treasurer of State shall hold all surcharges assessed by this subsection in the fund and
invest all money in the fund until disbursed to the collaborative upon request of the
collaborative. Interest from investments accrues to the fund.
All money in the fund is subject to allocation by the Legislature. Unexpended balances in
the fund at the end of the fiscal year may not lapse but must be carried forward to be used
for the same purposes.
In addition to payment of the regular license fee and the surcharge, a person purchasing a
license subject to the surcharges established in this subsection may make voluntary
contributions to the fund at the time the license is purchased. Voluntary contributions
received by the department from a licensee pursuant to this subsection or any other source
must be deposited in the fund by the department and must be used by the collaborative for
the purposes of this subchapter.
12. Reports. The collaborative shall report annually on its activities and expenditures
to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over marine resources
matters, to the Lobster Advisory Council established under section 6462-A and, at a
statewide meeting of interested license holders, to the lobster industry. The collaborative
shall provide notice of the date and location of the statewide meeting of license holders at
the time of license issuance or renewal.
13. Audit. An annual audit of the expenditures of the collaborative must be performed.
The collaborative may contract with the Office of the State Auditor or with a private sector
accounting firm to conduct the audit. The collaborative shall report the results of that audit
to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over marine resources
matters. If the annual audit is performed by the Office of the State Auditor, the collaborative
shall reimburse the department for its costs to conduct that audit.
14. Repeal. This section is repealed December 31, 2026.
Sec. 3. 12 MRSA §6465, sub-§2, ¶G, as amended by PL 2013, c. 309, §3, is further
amended to read:
G. The Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative under section 6455 6455-A;
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 Sec. 4. 29-A MRSA §456-A, sub-§3, as amended by PL 2013, c. 309, §4, is further
amended to read:
3. Design. The Secretary of State, in consultation with the Maine Lobster Marketing
Collaborative under Title 12, section 6455 6455-A, shall determine a design for the lobster
special registration plates. The joint standing committee of the Legislature having
jurisdiction over transportation matters shall review the final design prior to manufacture
of the plates. The Secretary of State shall issue upon request lobster plates that are also
vanity plates. Lobster plates are issued in accordance with the provisions of this section
and section 453.
Sec. 5. PL 2021, c. 58 is repealed.
Sec. 6. Transition. The following provisions govern the reestablishment of the
Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative.
1. Members, officers and executive committee members. Notwithstanding the
Maine Revised Statutes, Title 12, section 6455-A:
A. Members of the Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative appointed pursuant to Title
12, former section 6455, subsection 1-C serving on September 30, 2021 continue to
serve until the completion of their terms. Their successors are appointed as provided
in Title 12, section 6455-A, subsection 4;
B. Officers of the Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative elected pursuant to Title 12,
former section 6455, subsection 2-A serving on September 30, 2021 continue to serve
until the completion of their terms. Their successors are elected as provided in Title
12, section 6455-A, subsection 5; and
C. Members of the executive committee of the Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative
appointed pursuant to Title 12, former section 6455, subsection 2-B serving on
September 30, 2021 continue to serve until the completion of their terms. Their
successors are appointed as provided in Title 12, section 6455-A, subsection 6.
Sec. 7. Retroactivity. This Act applies retroactively to October 1, 2021.
Emergency clause. In view of the emergency cited in the preamble, this legislation
takes effect when approved.
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Statutes affected:
Bill Text ACTPUB , Chapter 491: 12.6455, 12.6465, 29-A.456