§10324. ATV Enforcement Grant Review Committee

The grant committee is organized within the department and must carry out its duties in accordance with this section.   [PL 2003, c. 695, Pt. B, §4 (NEW); PL 2003, c. 695, Pt. C, §1 (AFF).]

1.  Members.  The grant committee consists of 9 members as follows:

A. Three ex officio members or their designees:

(1) The Game Warden Colonel;

(2) The Chief of the Maine State Police; and

(3) The Director of the forest protection unit, Maine Forest Service within the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry; and   [PL 2003, c. 695, Pt. B, §4 (NEW); PL 2003, c. 695, Pt. C, §1 (AFF); PL 2011, c. 657, Pt. W, §§5, 8 (REV).]

B. Six members appointed by the commissioner as follows:

(1) One member who is a member of a statewide association of sheriffs;

(2) Four members who are members of a statewide association of police chiefs, one representing northern Maine, one representing southern Maine, one representing eastern Maine and one representing central Maine; and

(3) One member representing the Maine Criminal Justice Academy.   [PL 2003, c. 695, Pt. B, §4 (NEW); PL 2003, c. 695, Pt. C, §1 (AFF).]

[PL 2003, c. 695, Pt. B, §4 (NEW); PL 2003, c. 695, Pt. C, §1 (AFF); PL 2011, c. 657, Pt. W, §§5, 8 (REV).]

2.  Terms.  The ex officio members or their designees serve for their terms of office. The commissioner shall appoint other members to staggered 4-year terms. The initial appointments must be made by December 31, 2004. The initial appointments are as follows: 2 for 4-year terms; 2 for 3-year terms; and 2 for 2-year terms. Appointed members may not serve more than 2 consecutive 4-year terms.

[PL 2003, c. 695, Pt. B, §4 (NEW); PL 2003, c. 695, Pt. C, §1 (AFF).]

3.  Chair; election of officers.  The members of the grant committee shall annually elect one of its members as chair and one of its members as vice-chair.

[PL 2003, c. 695, Pt. B, §4 (NEW); PL 2003, c. 695, Pt. C, §1 (AFF).]

4.  Grant committee meetings, rules and administration.  The grant committee is governed by the following.

A. The grant committee shall meet at least 2 times a year at the call of the chair or when needed to address urgent ATV problems.   [PL 2003, c. 695, Pt. B, §4 (NEW); PL 2003, c. 695, Pt. C, §1 (AFF).]

B. A quorum of the grant committee for the transaction of business is 5 members.   [PL 2003, c. 695, Pt. B, §4 (NEW); PL 2003, c. 695, Pt. C, §1 (AFF).]

C. Grant committee members are governed by the conflict-of-interest provisions in Title 5, section 18.   [PL 2003, c. 695, Pt. B, §4 (NEW); PL 2003, c. 695, Pt. C, §1 (AFF).]

[PL 2003, c. 695, Pt. B, §4 (NEW); PL 2003, c. 695, Pt. C, §1 (AFF).]

5.  Grant committee duties.  The grant committee has the following duties.

A. Consistent with the requirements of this subchapter, the grant committee shall adopt rules governing the review of grant proposals and awarding of grants.   [PL 2003, c. 695, Pt. B, §4 (NEW); PL 2003, c. 695, Pt. C, §1 (AFF).]

B. The grant committee shall annually review funding requests and award funds for specific projects from law enforcement agencies in accordance with this subchapter. The grant committee may award grants only to proposals that conform to the rules adopted pursuant to paragraph A. Grant proposals must include a stated purpose, timeline, potential outcomes, a budget and an explanation of need.   [PL 2003, c. 695, Pt. B, §4 (NEW); PL 2003, c. 695, Pt. C, §1 (AFF).]

C. The grant committee may accept donations of equipment or materials if the grant committee determines that the donations will further the purposes of this subchapter. If the grant committee accepts equipment or materials, the grant committee shall establish by rule a process for receiving proposals and making awards to appropriate entities of such equipment or materials.   [PL 2003, c. 695, Pt. B, §4 (NEW); PL 2003, c. 695, Pt. C, §1 (AFF).]

D. The grant committee shall submit an annual report by January 15th to the commissioner and the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over inland fisheries and wildlife matters. In the annual report, the grant committee shall detail expenditures made from grant revenues and provide a detailed summary of ATV enforcement activities supported by the grant as well as any equipment or materials that it has accepted or awarded pursuant to this subchapter. The first report must be submitted by January 15, 2005.   [PL 2003, c. 695, Pt. B, §4 (NEW); PL 2003, c. 695, Pt. C, §1 (AFF).]

E. The grant committee shall endeavor to keep the level of its administrative expenses as low as practicable and shall include in its annual report a description of efforts to minimize administrative expenses.   [PL 2003, c. 695, Pt. B, §4 (NEW); PL 2003, c. 695, Pt. C, §1 (AFF).]

[PL 2003, c. 695, Pt. B, §4 (NEW); PL 2003, c. 695, Pt. C, §1 (AFF).]

6.  Staff; administration.  The department is responsible for the administration and staff support of the grant committee and the commissioner shall contract with an appropriately qualified person to serve as ATV grant coordinator to implement and account for the operations of the grant committee. The contract may provide for part-time services.

[PL 2003, c. 695, Pt. B, §4 (NEW); PL 2003, c. 695, Pt. C, §1 (AFF).]

SECTION HISTORY

PL 2003, c. 695, §B4 (NEW). PL 2003, c. 695, §C1 (AFF). PL 2011, c. 657, Pt. W, §§5, 8 (REV).