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LD 77

An Act To Stabilize And Sustainably Fund The Department Of Inland Fisheries And Wildlife, Fisheries And Hatcheries Division By Increasing The Inland Fishing License Fees And Establishing The Inland Fisheries Conservation And Enhancement Fund

132nd Legislature (2025-2026) Introduced by Steve Wood

The bill creates a Fisheries Conservation and Enhancement subaccount and funds hatchery operations by increasing inland fishing license fees and directing $2 per license to the Hat

The Bill was in the possession of the House when the Legislature adjourned Sine Die and was placed in the Legislative Files. (DEAD)
#fishing #inlandfishinglicensefees #licenses
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Bill Summary · LD 77

Summary — LD 77 (132nd Maine Legislature)

Title: An Act To Stabilize And Sustainably Fund The Department Of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, Fisheries and Hatcheries Division By Increasing the Inland Fishing License Fees and Establishing the Inland Fisheries Conservation and Enhancement Fund

Purpose

LD 77 sought to provide stable, dedicated funding for the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife’s Fisheries and Hatcheries operations by (1) increasing certain inland fishing license fees, (2) establishing a Fisheries Conservation and Enhancement program/subaccount within existing Fisheries and Hatcheries Operations (FHO), and (3) expanding and dedicating revenue to the existing Fish Hatchery Maintenance Fund (FHMF).

Key provisions

  • Establishes a Fisheries Conservation and Enhancement Program as a subaccount within the existing FHO program.
  • Expands authorized uses of the Fish Hatchery Maintenance Fund (FHMF) to include overtime personnel costs and specific design, construction, and operational expenses for hatcheries and related work.
  • Directs $2 from each inland fishing license sold to be deposited into the FHMF.
  • Increases fees for several inland fishing license types (committee amendment specified increases for resident and nonresident season and short-term licenses; for example, the resident season fishing license was increased from $150 to $169 in the committee amendment). Fee increases were set to begin December 1, 2025 under the committee amendment.

Fiscal impact

Two fiscal scenarios are reflected in legislative fiscal notes:

  • Committee amendment (LR 251(02)):

    • Projected additional revenue: approximately $1,474,000 annually to the General Fund and ~$500,000 annually to Other Special Revenue Funds (FHMF), beginning FY 2025-26.
    • Includes Other Special Revenue Fund allocations of ~$500,500 beginning FY 2025-26 to authorize expenditure of FHMF revenue and a baseline allocation of $500 to create the new subaccount.

  • Subsequent House amendment to the committee amendment (LR 251(04)):

    • Removed the broader fee increases, eliminating the ~ $1,474,000 annual General Fund gain.
    • Retained the $2 per-license deposit to FHMF and the expanded FHMF uses, resulting in ~ $500,000 annually shifting from the General Fund into FHMF (Other Special Revenue) beginning FY 2025-26.

All fiscal projections are ongoing annual amounts in the notes.

Who is affected

  • Recreational anglers (residents and nonresidents) who purchase inland fishing licenses — they would face higher license costs under the committee amendment.
  • Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (Fisheries & Hatcheries Division) — gains a program subaccount and additional dedicated funding for hatchery operations and related expenses.
  • State General Fund — would have seen increased revenues under the committee amendment; the House amendment would have redirected a portion (~$500,000) that otherwise would have gone to the General Fund into the FHMF.
  • Fish Hatchery Maintenance Fund — gains new, dedicated deposits and expanded allowable uses.

Timeline & procedural status

  • Introduced: January 6, 2025.
  • Committee work, amendments, and votes occurred between March and June 2025. The House passed the bill as amended (vote 76–70) on May 29, 2025.
  • Subsequent action in the Legislature resulted in the bill remaining in the possession of the House when the Legislature adjourned Sine Die on June 25, 2025; the bill was placed in the Legislative Files and is effectively dead for the 132nd Legislature.

(Notes: Fiscal details are drawn from legislative fiscal notes LR 251(02) and LR 251(04). The committee amendment included specific fee increases for several license types; the complete fee schedule is in the underlying bill text/fiscal document.)

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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