April 2, 2013 — The Committee on Marine Resources on Monday tabled action on a bill to reorganize a council charged with promoting the state lobster industry until disagreements over how to pay for the council's work can be resolved.
The bill would increase the amount spent to promote and market Maine lobster to $3 million a year by its third year. The existing Lobster Promotion Council, created by the Legislature in 1991, has a budget of about $350,000.
Committee members still expect to send the bill to the full Legislature this session.
The measure calls for the council budget to be increased to $1 million the first year, $2 million the second and $3 million the third. At that point, the council's work would be evaluated to see whether the additional marketing has raised prices and demand.
"If it doesn't work, we'll all come in here and pull the plug," said Patrice McCarron, president of the Maine Lobstermen's Association in Kennebunk, which has been instrumental in developing the proposal. The additional money would be raised through surcharges over and above license fees charged annually to lobstermen, dealers, wholesalers, processors and shippers.
The bill would not allocate state funding for the council's budget increase, and lawmakers have been struggling over a formula for how much of the cost each segment of the industry should pay.
Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald