§2472. Expenditures from the fund
Funds in the fund must be distributed by the University of Maine at Orono as provided in this section. [PL 2019, c. 548, §1 (NEW).]
1. Pesticide container fee reimbursement. Funds must be provided for ongoing reimbursement to the State Tax Assessor on a monthly basis by the 15th of the month following collection, to pay for administrative costs not to exceed $40,000 annually from collection of the pesticide container fee imposed under Title 36, section 4941.
[RR 2019, c. 2, Pt. A, §12 (COR).]
2. Registered pesticides. Funds must be provided for ongoing reimbursement, not to exceed $60,000 annually, to the Board of Pesticides Control, established in Title 5, section 12004‑D, subsection 3 and referred to in this chapter as "the board," to generate and maintain a list of pesticides registered with the board pursuant to section 607 and answer inquiries relating to the list. The board shall post on its publicly accessible website, a list of currently registered pesticide products.
[PL 2019, c. 548, §1 (NEW).]
3. Administrative costs. Funds must be provided for ongoing reimbursement to the University of Maine at Orono for administrative costs not to exceed 10% of the balance remaining in the fund after the amounts under subsections 1 and 2 are subtracted.
[PL 2019, c. 548, §1 (NEW).]
4. Pest management education. Twenty-five percent of the balance remaining in the fund after the amounts under subsections 1, 2 and 3 are subtracted must be provided to the University of Maine Cooperative Extension pest management unit for outreach and education initiatives on pest management and pesticide safety and pesticide application and use, particularly for homeowners and other individuals using pesticides.
[PL 2019, c. 548, §1 (NEW).]
5. Tick laboratory costs. Fifty percent of the balance remaining in the fund after the amounts under subsections 1, 2 and 3 are subtracted must be provided to the University of Maine Cooperative Extension pest management unit for nonadministrative costs related to a tick laboratory, including, but not limited to:
A. Testing ticks provided by residents of the State for pathogenic organisms; [PL 2019, c. 548, §1 (NEW).]
B. General tick laboratory operations; [PL 2019, c. 548, §1 (NEW).]
C. Salaries; [PL 2019, c. 548, §1 (NEW).]
D. Tick management research, demonstrations and educational outreach, including community integrated pest management and developing educational materials; [PL 2019, c. 548, §1 (NEW).]
E. Equipment, materials and supplies; [PL 2019, c. 548, §1 (NEW).]
F. Facility expansion; and [PL 2019, c. 548, §1 (NEW).]
G. Medical and veterinary pest management focusing on health-related issues caused by ticks and other arthropods as needed. [PL 2019, c. 548, §1 (NEW).]
[PL 2019, c. 548, §1 (NEW).]
6. Pest research. Twenty-five percent of the balance remaining in the fund after the amounts under subsections 1, 2 and 3 are subtracted must be provided to the University of Maine at Orono or to an entity in collaboration with the University of Maine at Orono for a pest research project to be identified every 3 years by a pest research committee designated by the University of Maine at Orono, the University of Maine System and the department in the 2nd year of the project. The pest research committee under this subsection consists of 7 members, including:
A. One member who is an extension specialist with pest management expertise, appointed by the dean of the University of Maine Cooperative Extension; [PL 2019, c. 548, §1 (NEW).]
B. Two members who are faculty of the University of Maine at Orono, College of Natural Sciences, Forestry, and Agriculture with pest management expertise, appointed by the dean of the University of Maine at Orono, College of Natural Sciences, Forestry, and Agriculture, Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station; [PL 2019, c. 548, §1 (NEW).]
C. Two members, one representing the agricultural sector and one who is a commercial pesticide applicator, appointed jointly by the dean of the University of Maine Cooperative Extension and the dean of the University of Maine at Orono, College of Natural Sciences, Forestry, and Agriculture, Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station; [PL 2019, c. 548, §1 (NEW).]
D. One member representing a campus of the University of Maine System other than the University of Maine campus in Orono and having pest management expertise, appointed by the Chancellor of the University of Maine System; and [PL 2019, c. 548, §1 (NEW).]
E. One member from the department with pest management expertise, appointed by the commissioner. [PL 2019, c. 548, §1 (NEW).]
Members serve one-year terms and may be reappointed to successive terms.
[PL 2019, c. 548, §1 (NEW).]
7. Report. No later than January 15th of each year, the University of Maine at Orono shall submit a report to the board and the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over agriculture matters on use of the funds under this chapter.
[PL 2019, c. 548, §1 (NEW).]
8. Rules. The board may adopt rules to carry out the provisions of this chapter. Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2‑A.
[PL 2019, c. 548, §1 (NEW).]
SECTION HISTORY
PL 2019, c. 548, §1 (NEW). RR 2019, c. 2, Pt. A, §12 (COR).