1. Fees established. The commissioner shall establish procedures to charge applicants for costs incurred in reviewing license and permit applications. For the purposes of this subchapter, costs may include, but are not limited to, personnel costs, travel, supplies, legal and computer services.

2. Fee categories. Fees shall be assessed for the following.

2-A. Fee adjustment. The commissioner may adjust the fees established in this subchapter on an annual basis according to the United States Consumer Price Index established by the federal Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. These adjustments may be compounded and assessed at an interval greater than one year if the commissioner determines that such periodic increases lower administrative costs for the department and continue effective public service.

3. Maximum fee. The commissioner shall set the actual fees and shall publish a schedule of all fees by November 1st of each year. If the commissioner determines that a particular application, by virtue of its size, uniqueness, complexity or other relevant factors, is likely to require significantly more costs than those listed on Table I, the commissioner may designate that application as subject to special fees. Such a designation must be made at, or prior to, the time the application is accepted as complete and may not be based solely on the likelihood of extensive public controversy. The maximum fee for processing an application may not exceed $250,000, except that the maximum fee for processing an application under chapter 3, subchapter 1, article 9 is as provided for in subsection 4?A. All staff of the department, the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry and the Department of Marine Resources who have worked on the review of the application, including, but not limited to, preapplication consultations, shall submit quarterly reports to the commissioner detailing the time spent on the application and all expenses attributable to the application, including the costs of any appeals filed by the applicant and, after taking into consideration the interest of fairness and equity, any other appeals if the commissioner finds it in the public interest to do so. Any appeal filed by the applicant of an application fee must be to the agency of jurisdiction of the application. The costs associated with assistance to the board on an appeal before the board may be separately charged. The processing fee for that application must be the actual cost to the department, the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry and the Department of Marine Resources. The processing fee must be distributed to each department that incurs a cost to be deposited in the account in which the expenses were incurred in that department to reimburse the actual cost to that department. The applicant must be billed quarterly and all fees paid prior to receipt of the permit. At the time of the quarterly billing by the department, the commissioner shall review the ongoing work of the department to identify, prevent and mitigate undue delays or vague requirements of the application processing. Nothing in this section limits the commissioner’s authority to enter into an agreement with an applicant for payment of costs in excess of the maximum fee established in this subsection.

4. Accounting system.

4-A. Fees for metallic mineral mining. Metallic mineral mining permit applications under chapter 3, subchapter 1, article 9 are subject to the following fees. Fees under this subsection must be deposited in the Metallic Mining Fund, Other Special Revenue Funds subaccount.

5. Maximum fees after 1991.

5-A. Accounting system. In order to determine the extent to which the functions set out in this section are necessary for the licensing process or are being performed in an efficient and expeditious manner, the commissioner shall require that all employees of the department involved in any aspect of these functions keep accurate and regular daily time records. These records must describe the matters worked on, services performed and the amount of time devoted to those matters and services, as well as amounts of money expended in performing those functions. Records must be kept for a sufficient duration of time as determined by the commissioner to establish to the commissioner’s satisfaction that the fees are appropriate.

5-B. Accounting system.

6. Reporting requirements.