An Act To Implement the Recommendations of the Commission To Study Public Health Concerning Chain Restaurants
Maine Legislature, Session 122, LD 0110
Committee: Health and Human Services
Sponsors: CRA VEN, NUTTING, CANAVAN, EBERLE, FAIRCLOTH, MAKAS, MOODY, PELLETIER-SIMPSON, PINGREE
Amends: 22 MRSA §2502

Legislative Document 
No. 110 
H.P.86 
House of Representatives, January 11, 2005 
An Act To Implement the Recommendations of the Commission To 
Study Public Health Concerning Chain Restaurants 
Reference to the Committee on Health and Human Services suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Representative CRA VEN of Lewiston. 
Cosponsored by Senator NUTTING of Androscoggin and 
17/~/J7.~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Representatives: CANAVAN of Waterville, EBERLE of South Portland, FAIRCLOTH of 
Bangor, MAKAS of Lewiston, MOODY of Manchester, PELLETIER-SIMPSON of Auburn, 
PINGREE of North Haven, W ALCOTT of Lewiston. 
Printed on recycled paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 22 MRSA §2502 is enacted to read: 
§2502. 
Caloric information 
Beginning January 1, 
2006, 
a 
restaurant, 
which 
for 
the 
purposes of this section means a restaurant licensed as an eating 
establishment under this chapter, 
that is identified "lith 
a 
restaurant chain having 20 or more locations under the same name 
nationally, regardless of the type of ownership of the restaurant 
locations, shall provide caloric information for all food and 
drink 
items 
sold in the 
restaurant 
as 
described under 
this 
section. 
As used in this section, "caloric information" for 
Q 
food or drink item means the number of calories contained in the 
item as prepared in accordance with the standard recipe 
and 
standard formulation of that item~ 
1. 
Menu boards. 
Caloric information must be provided all 
menu boards in restaurants in which menu boards are displayed. 
The typeface of the caloric information must be at least 213 as 
large as other menu board information. 
The caloric information 
must be displayed adjacent to the listing of the food item. 
2. 
Menus. 
Caloric information must be provided on menus 
restaurants in which menus are used. 
The typeface of the caloric 
information 
must 
be 
at 
least 
2/3 
as 
large 
as 
other 
menu 
information. 
The caloric information must be displayed adjacent 
to the listing of the food item. 
3. 
Restaurants without menus. 
Restaurants without 
men~s 
must display caloric information on menu boards on the walls '-
with at least one menu board 12 feet from each public entrance 
that can be read at a distance of 12 feet. The menu board must 
meet the requirements of subsection 1. 
4. 
Telephone orders exempt. 
This section does not apply to 
orders received orally by telephone. 
5. 
Reasonable variation. 
A 
restaurant is 
not 
out 
of 
compliance with this section for the sole reason that the actual 
number of calories contained in a food or drink item as served at 
that restaurant varies from the caloric information provided due 
to assembly of the item by hand or changes or substitutions made 
at the request of the customer. 
Sec. 2. Rules regarding nutrition information. 
By December 3L 
2005, 
the Department of Health and Human Services, 
Bureau of 
Health shall adopt 
rules 
regarding the 
provlSlon of 
caloric 
information required by the State in restaurants. 
Rules adopted 
Page l-LR0684(l) 
pursuant to this section are routine technical rules as defined 
in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 
2-A. 
SUMMARY 
This bill requires restaurants that are part of chains with 
or more locations nationally to provide caloric information 
for food and dr ink items on menus or menu boards. 
The bill 
specifies the size and placement of this information. 
The bill 
also exempts telephone orders from the requirements and allows 
for 
reasonable variation of calories in food 
items 
from 
the 
provided caloric information due to the assembly of items by hand 
or changes or substitutions made at the request of the customer.