An Act To Strengthen the Penalties for Sales to Minors or Purchases by Minors of Alcoholic Beverages
Maine Legislature, Session 122, LD 0903
Committee: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Sponsors: NUTTING, BLANCHETTE, HOBBINS, PLOWMAN, BARSTOW, DAVIS, GERZOFSKY, HOTHAM, MARLEY
Amends: 28-A MRSA §2053, 28-A MRSA §2081

Legislative Document 
No. 903 
S.P.311 
In Senate, February 22,2005 
An Act To Strengthen the Penalties for Sales to Minors or Purchases 
by Minors of Alcoholic Beverages 
Reference to the Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety suggested and ordered 
printed. 
Presented by Senator NUTTING of Androscoggin. 
Cosponsored by Representative BLANCHETTE of Bangor and 
JOY J. O'BRIEN 
Secretary of the Senate 
Senators: HOBBINS of York, PLOWMAN of Penobscot, Representatives: BARSTOW of 
Gorham, DAVIS of Augusta, GERZOFSKY of Brunswick, HOTHAM of Dixfield, MARLEY 
of Portland. 
Printed on recycled paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. I. 28-A MRSA §2053, sub-§I, as amended by PL 1995, c. 65, 
Pt. 
A, 
§80 and affected by §153 
and Pt. 
C, 
§15, 
is further 
amended to read: 
1. 
Court shall suspend license. 
The court shall suspend 
the operator's license or right to operate, or right to obtain a 
license, 
of 
a 
minor 
found 
1n 
violation 
of 
section 
2051, 
subsection 1 or section 2052 as follows: 
A. 
Thirty days for the first offense; 
B. 
Ninety days for the 2nd offense; and 
C. 
One year for any subsequent offense. 
A court may grant an operator whose license is suspended under 
this subsection a restricted license to enable the operator to 
drive to work, school or a court-ordered counseling program for 
certain hours of the day and days of the week. 
The court shall 
immediately 
forward 
the 
license 
to 
the 
Secretary 
of 
State 
together with the record of adjudication on the form furnished 
for reporting convictions and adjudications for violations of 
Title 29-A. 
Sec. 2. 28-A MRSA §2081. sub-§I. 1fA. as amended by PL 2003, c. 
452, Pt. P, §9 and affected by Pt. X, §2, is further amended to 
read: 
A. 
Procure, 
furnish, give, 
The 
following 
paragraph. 
or in any way aid or assist in procuring, 
sell or deliver liquor for or to a minor. 
penal ties 
apply 
to 
violations 
of 
this 
( 1) 
A person who violates this paragraph commits 
a 
Class D crime. 
(2) 
A person who violates this paragraph commits 
a 
Class D crime for which the fine may not be less than 
$500 and may not be suspended if the violation involves 
a minor who is less than 14 years of age. 
(3) 
A person who violates this paragraph after having 
been previously convicted of violating this paragraph 
or paragraph B within a 6-year period commits a Class D 
crime for which the fine may not be less than $500 and 
may not be suspended. 
Page l-LR211l (1) 
(4) 
A person who violates this paragraph after having 
been previously convicted of violating this paragraph 
or paragraph B 2 or more times within a 6-year period 
commits a Class D crime for which the fine may not be 
less than $1,000 and may not be suspended. 
(5) 
A person who violates this paragraph commits 
a 
Class C crime if the consumption of liquor by the minor 
in fact causes serious bodily injury to or death of the 
minor or any other individual. 
For purposes of this 
subsection, 
"serious 
bodily 
injury" 
has 
the 
same 
meaning as set out in Title 17-A, section 2, subsection 
231--,-
(6) 
The court shall suspend the operator's license of 
a person found in violation of this paragraph for 30 
days for the first offense, 90 days for the 2nd offense 
and one year for the 3rd or a subsequent offense. 
A 
court may grant an operator whose license is suspended 
under this subparagraph a restricted license to enable 
the 
operator 
to 
drive 
to 
work, 
school 
or 
a 
court-ordered counseling program for certain hours of 
the day and days of the weeki 
SUMMARY 
This bill requires that a minor who purchases alcohol and an 
adult 
who 
furnishes 
a 
minor 
with 
the 
alcohol 
each 
receive 
suspensions of their operator's licenses and allows a court to 
grant an operator suspended by these provisions 
a 
restricted 
license 
in order to 
go 
to 
work, 
school 
or 
a 
court-ordered 
counseling program.