STATE HOUSE– Rep. Billy Bob Faulkingham (R-Winter Harbor) announced today that his bill to provide funding for the lobster legal defense fund will have a Public Hearing Thursday.
The bill is funded by license fees fishermen pay to support the State’s lobster industry by reimbursing a statewide association of individuals engaged in commercial lobster fishing and the labor union representing individuals engaged in commercial lobster fishing in the State for legal costs incurred and paid in legal proceedings involving the regulations of the United States Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration implementing the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan.
“The Maine lobster industry is under attack. It is facing crippling regulations and industry collapsing lawsuits,” said Rep. Faulkingham. “This bill is a move toward leveling the legal playing field by supporting the lobster legal defense fund. It will benefit the fishing families that put food on our table and the thousands of workers that depend on the Maine lobster industry.”
What: Public Hearing on LD 710 – “An Act to Fund the Lobster Legal Defense Fund”
Where: Committee on Marine Resources, Cross Building, Room 206
When: Thursday, March 23, 2023 at 1:00 PM
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