PORTLAND, Maine (AP) A legislative committee has signed off on a plan to create a new fund to help Maine communities deal with an invasive moth.

The fund would start by making $150,000 in grants available in the 2022-23 fiscal year to try to slow the spread of the browntail moth. The moth has been the subject of an outbreak in the state for several years and its caterpillars have poisonous hairs that can cause an itchy rash in humans.

The Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry voted in favor of the creation of the fund on Tuesday. The proposal must still be approved by the full Legislature.

The bill’s sponsor, Democratic Rep. Allison Hepler of Woolwich, has said the money would be available for use by cities, towns and nonprofit groups for activities that control the spread of the moth. That could include hiring arborists and pesticide applicators and renting equipment to clip down moth nests.