An Act To Change the Child Care Facility Licensing Laws
Maine Legislature, Session 122, LD 0359
Committee: Health and Human Services
Sponsors: DUPREY
Amends: 22 MRSA §7802, 22 MRSA §8301-A

Legislative Document 
No. 359 
H.P.272 
House of Representatives, January 25,2005 
An Act To Change the Child Care Facility Licensing Laws 
Reference to the Committee on Health and Human Services suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Representative DUPREY of Hampden. 
Printed on recycled paper 
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MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 22 MRSA §7802, sub-§2. ~B, as amended by PL 1999, c. 
599, §l, is further amended to read: 
B. 
The terms of full licenses or approvals are as follows. 
(1) 
Except as provided in subparagraphs (2) T--{-3--}--aas 
f4} to (5), the term of all full licenses and approvals 
issued pursuant to this chapter is for one year or the 
remalnlng 
period 
of 
a 
conditional 
or 
provisional 
license that has been issued for less than one year. 
(2) 
The 
term of 
a 
residential child care facility 
license is for 2 years. 
(3) 
The term of a drug treatment center license may be 
for either one or 2 years. 
(4) 
The term of a family foster home or specialized 
foster home license is for 2 years. 
(5) 
The term of a child care facility as defined in 
section 830l-A, subsection I-A, paragraph B is for 2 
years. 
Sec. 2. 22 MRSA §8301-A, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2001, c. 
645, §6, is further amended to read: 
2. 
Child care facility licensure. 
The owner or operator of 
a child care facility shall pay the licensing fee required under 
section 8303-A. 
A child care facility must be licensed under 
this chapter 
and must 
comply with the rules adopted by the 
commissioner 
under 
section 
8302-A 
and 
the 
fire 
safety 
requirements of section 8304-A. 
The department shall make at 
~t one 
unannounced 
inspection 
of 
a 
child 
care 
facility 
licensed under this chapter during the term of the license. 
Except as otherwise provided, 
a nursery school must meet the 
requirements of this chapter and chapter 1675. 
Sec. 3. 22 MRS A §8303-A, as amended by PL 1997, c. 494, §12 
and affected by §15, is further amended to read: 
§8303-A. 
Fee for licenses 
By January 1, 
1998, 
the department shall adopt rules to 
establish 
reasonable 
fees 
for 
both 
initial 
licensure 
or 
certification and license or certification renewals for day care 
centers, child care facilities, 
nursery schools and certified 
home day care providers. 
Rules adopted pursuant to this section 
Page l-LR1275(1) 
are major substantive rules pursuant to Title 5, chapter 375, 
subchapter Il-A 2-A. 
Sec. 4. Fee established. 
The fee the Department of Health and 
Human Services establishes for 
a 
child care facility license 
issued under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 22, section 7802, 
must be twice the fee of the license issued on an annual basis. 
SUMMARY 
This bill requires that a license for a child care facility 
be issued for a 2-year term, that the Department of Health and 
Human Services make at least one unannounced inspection of a 
child care facility within the 2-year license term and that the 
fee for a 2-year child care facility license be $160.