Maine Seafood Alliance, representing and advocating for all aspects of the Maine seafood industry.

Friday June 1-LD1318 Moves toward Passage

June 1, 2007

SOURCE: MSA Report

The Maine House passed an amended version of LD1318 on Tuesday May 29, The Senate has added an amendment but has not passed the bill and will not do so at least until Monday June 4. Below is a summary of the bill as it is now written. Note in #2 the make up of the scoring committee.

SUMMARY

This amendment replaces the section of the resolve that directs the Department of Marine Resources and the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability to conduct a review and audit of the public health division within the Department of Marine Resources and:

1. Directs Maine Sea Grant to work with the Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Conference to develop a scope of work and issue a request for proposals to conduct a review of the program procedures in the public health division within the Department of Marine Resources;

2. Establishes a 3-member scoring committee to select a vendor from applications received in response to the request for proposals by Maine Sea Grant (one from Sea Grant, one from DMR and one from the shellfish harvesting industry);

3. Establishes a special fund within the Department of Marine Resources to be used only for the purpose of conducting a review of program procedures and authorizes the department to accept outside funding for this special fund;

4. Directs Maine Sea Grant, in conjunction with the vendor selected to conduct the review and after review and comment by the Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Conference, to provide a report on the review of the public health division within the Department of Marine Resources to the Joint Standing Committee on Marine Resources by January 15, 2008;

5. Directs the Department of Marine Resources to work with members of the shellfish harvesting industry to determine the need and feasibility of a shellfish advisory council and to report its findings and recommendations to the Joint Standing Committee on Marine Resources by January 15, 2008; and

6. Adds an appropriations and allocations section.