An Act To Permit Interstate Wine and Malt Liquor Sales and Delivery to Homes
Maine Legislature, Session 122, LD 0560
Committee: Legal and Veterans Affairs
Sponsors: THOMAS, PLOWMAN, BISHOP, KAELIN

Legislative Document 
No. 560 
H.P.415 
House of Representatives, February 3,2005 
An Act To Permit Interstate Wine and Malt Liquor Sales and 
Delivery to Homes 
Reference to the Committee on Legal and Veterans Affairs suggested and ordered printed. 
PresenteJ by Representative LINDELL of Frankfort. 
'!r/~ 
/J1.11!tU:~{ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Cosponsored by Representative THOMAS of Ripley, Senator PLOWMAN of Penobscot and 
Representatives: BISHOP of Boothbay, KAELIN of Winterport. 
Printed on recyc led paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. I. 28-A MRSA §I403-A is enacted to read: 
§1403-A. 
Purchase of wine or malt liquor by mail 
1. 
Di~~ct shi~nt of wine or malt liquor to residents. 
A 
person currently licensed in 
another 
state 
as 
an 
alcoholic 
beverage producer, supplier, importer, wholesaler, distributor or 
retailer who obtains a certificate of approval as provided in 
.section 1351 and a nonresident shipper's license as provided in 
this section may ship wine or malt liquor directly to a resident 
of this State who is 21 years of age or older for that resident's 
personal use. 
2. 
Nonresident 
shipper 
application. 
Before 
sending 
a 
~hipment to a resident of this State, a nonresident shipper must 
hold a certificate of approval as provided in section 1351 and 
file an application for a 
license with the bureau on a 
form 
illuruLl2y the bUreau 
alQ1l.~ith a copy of its current alcoholic 
beverage license issued in another state and a $100 registration 
~ 
3. 
Deli_very t~stMQ.t 21 
y~ars or older. 
Wine or malt 
liquor shipped pursuant to this section may be shipped only to a 
resident 21 years of age or older and must be for the recipient's 
personal use only and not for resale. A shipment must be subject 
to 
in-person delivery 
to 
the 
resident 
who 
has 
ordered 
the 
shipment or a person residing at the resident's household who is 
years of age or older. 
All containers used for shipment of 
wine or malt liquor must be conspicuously labeled with the words 
"CONTAINS ALCOHOL: 
SIGNATURE OF PERSON 21 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER 
REOUIRED FOR DELIVERY." 
4. 
Prohibited shippin~eas. A nonresident shipper may not 
ship to any address in an area identified by the bureau as a 
prohibited shipping area or a local option area. 
5. 
Li~ens~.A.ewal. 
A _n~mresident shipper may annually 
uwew its license with the bureau by paying a $100 renewal fee 
and 
providing 
the 
bureau with 
a 
true 
copy 
of 
its current 
alcoholic beverage license issued in another state. 
6. 
Payment of -.St,D..t.fL_t,~es. 
A nonresident shipper shall pay 
annually 
to 
the 
Department 
of 
Administrative 
and 
Financial 
Services, Bureau of Revenue Services the sales and excise taxes 
due on sales in the preceding calendar year. 
1. 
Annual report. 
A nonresident shipper shall report to 
the bureau annually by January 1st of each year the total number 
Page l-LR0357(1) 
of bottJes of wine or 
I1)Q~iquor, by type, shipped into the 
State in the preceding calendar year. 
8. 
Audit. 
The bureau may perform an audit of a nonresident 
shipper's records at any time. 
9. 
Violation. 
Violation of this section is a 
Class 
D 
crime. 
A violation of this section constitutes a violation of 
the Maine Unfair Trade Practices Act. The bureau may enforce the 
requirements of this section by administrative proceedings to 
suspend or revoke a nonresident shipper's license. 
The bureau 
may 
accept 
pa~t of 
an 
offer 
in 
compromise 
in 
lieu 
of 
suspension; such payments must be determined by rule adopted by 
the bureau. 
~l~O~. __ ~A~d~optio~of rM~~s. 
The bureau may adopt rules to carry 
out the purposes of this section. 
Rules adopted pursuant to this 
~ection are 
routine 
technical 
rules 
as 
defined in Title 
5, 
chapter 375, subchapter 2-A. 
Sec. 2. 28-A MRS A §2077-B. sub-§l, as enacted by PL 1997, c. 
501, §6, is amended to read 
1. 
Prohibition. 
A person may not sell, furnish, deliver or 
purchase 
liquor 
from 
an out-of-state 
company 
by mail 
order L 
except wine or malt liquor pursuant to section 1403-A. 
SUMMARY 
This bill allows an out-of-state shipper to ship wine or 
malt liquor directly to a resident of this State who is 21 years 
of age or older for that resident's personal use.