LD728 • 2025

An Act to Amend the Laws Regarding Smelt Fishing

Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor: Representative James Dill
Last action: 2025-03-27
Official status: Pursuant to Joint Rule 310.3 Placed in Legislative Files (DEAD)
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

An Act to Amend the Laws Regarding Smelt Fishing

An Act to Amend the Laws Regarding Smelt Fishing Sponsor: Representative James Dill Reference committee: Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Latest committee action: Reported Out; ONTP

What This Bill Does

An Act to Amend the Laws Regarding Smelt Fishing Sponsor: Representative James Dill Reference committee: Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Latest committee action: Reported Out; ONTP

Limits and Unknowns

This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

2025-03-27 Senate
Pursuant to Joint Rule 310.3 Placed in Legislative Files (DEAD)
2025-03-26 Committee
Reported Out; ONTP
2025-03-21 House
Carried over, in the same posture, to the next special or regular session of the 132nd Legislature, pursuant to Joint Order SP 519.
2025-03-12 Committee
Work Session Held
2025-03-12 Committee
Voted; ONTP
2025-02-20 Committee
Referred to Committee on Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

Official Summary Text

An Act to Amend the Laws Regarding Smelt Fishing
Sponsor:
Representative James Dill
Reference committee:
Inland Fisheries and Wildlife
Latest committee action:
Reported Out; ONTP

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

Printed on recycled paper
132nd MAINE LEGISLATURE
FIRST REGULAR SESSION-2025
Legislative Document No. 728
H.P. 467 House of Representatives, February 25, 2025
An Act to Amend the Laws Regarding Smelt Fishing
Received by the Clerk of the House on February 20, 2025. Referred to the Committee on
Inland Fisheries and Wildlife pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to Joint
Rule 401.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative DILL of Old Town.
Cosponsored by Representatives: BRIDGEO of Augusta, DRINKWATER of Milford,
HEPLER of Woolwich, MASON of Lisbon, THORNE of Carmel.

Page 1 - 132LR1223(01)
1Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
2Sec. 2. 12 MRSA §12602, as amended by PL 2019, c. 224, §1 to 4 and c. 325, §7,
3 is further amended by enacting before the 2nd indented paragraph a new indented
4 paragraph to read:
5 A person may temporarily exceed smelt limits when actively fishing for smelt if the
6 fish are alive and being held in a grader or other live containment device. When a person
7 is finished fishing for the day, the person may measure the person's catch and shall
8 immediately release live smelts that exceed the daily bag limit at the water's edge.
9SUMMARY
10 This bill makes clear that a person may temporarily exceed daily bag limits when
11 actively fishing for smelt as long as the fish are contained in a grader or other live
12 containment device and live fish that exceed the daily bag limit are released at the water's
13 edge when a person is finished fishing for the day. The bill also makes clear that a person
14 has the opportunity to measure the person's catch after fishing before deciding which fish
15 to release.
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