§ 12 §6455-A — Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative (WHOLE SECTION TEXT EFFECTIVE UNTIL 12/31/26) (WHOLE SECTION TEXT REPEALED 12/31/26)

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-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:
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:
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:
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:
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.
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.

Legislative History

PL 2021, c. 491, §2 (NEW). PL 2021, c. 491, §7 (AFF). PL 2021, c. 755, §1 (AMD).