An Act To Allow Limited Partnerships between Brewers and Wholesalers
Maine Legislature, Session 122, LD 0792
Committee: Legal and Veterans Affairs
Sponsors: HOBBINS, FISHER, MITCHELL, OTT, PATRICK

Legislative Document 
No. 792 
S.P.259 
In Senate, February 15,2005 
An Act To Allow Limited Partnerships between Brewers and 
Wholesalers 
Reference to the Committee on Legal and Veterans Affairs suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Senator HOBBINS of York. 
Cosponsored by Representative FISHER of Brewer and 
JOY J. O'BRIEN 
Secretary of the Senate 
Senator: MITCHELL of Kennebec, Representatives: OTT of York, PATRICK of Rumford. 
Printed on recycled paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 28·A MRSA §707, sub·§4, as repealed and replaced by PL 
1987, c. 342, §42, is amended to read: 
4. 
Certificate of approval holder or Maine manufacturer; 
interest in wholesaler or retail license. 
Ne Except as provided 
in section 1363, subsection 3, a certificate of approval holder 
or in-state manufacturer may not have any financial interest, 
direct or indirect, in any: 
A. 
Maine wholesale license; or 
B. 
Maine retail license. 
Sec. 2. 28·A MRSA §1363, as amended by PL 1997, c. 373, §118, 
is further amended to read: 
§1363. 
Manufacture of malt liquor or table wine; credit; 
furnishing materials and equipment; limited partnership 
1. 
Certificate 
of 
approval 
holder 
not 
interested 
in 
wholesale license. 
Ne Except as provided in subsection 3, 
an 
officer, director or stockholder of a corporation waiea ~ 
is 
the holder of a manufacturer's certificate of approval may not be 
interested, either directly or indirectly, as a director, officer 
or 
stockholder in 
any other corporation waiea that holds 
a 
wholesale license. 
2. 
Loans by certificate of approval holder. 
Except as 
provided 
in 
paragraphs 
A 
and 
B 
and 
subsection 
3, 
Be 
Q 
manufacturer or certificate of approval holder may not, either 
directly 
or 
indirectly, 
loan 
any 
money, 
credit 
or 
their 
equivalent to any wholesale licensee for equipping, fitting out, 
maintaining or conducting, either in whole or in part, a business 
establishment where malt liquor or wine is sold. 
A. 
A certificate of approval holder may extend the 
and customary commercial credit for malt liquor or 
wine sold and delivered. 
usual 
table 
B. 
A manufacturer or holder of a certificate of approval 
may furnish a wholesale licensee materials and equipment for 
the 
use 
of 
the 
wholesale 
licensee 
or 
the 
wholesale 
licensee's employees, such as: 
(1) 
Painting the wholesale licensee's vehicles; 
(2) 
Supplying legal advertising 
wholesale 
licensee 
in 
the 
course 
licensee's business; and 
signs used by the 
of 
the 
wholesale 
(3) 
Supplying 
uniforms 
for 
the 
employees 
of 
the 
wholesale licensee. 
3. 
Limited partnership between certificate of 
approval 
holder and wholesale licensee. 
Notwithstanding any provision of 
this Title, a certificate of approval _holder or its affiliate or 
subsidiary may participate as 
a limited partner in a 
limited 
partnership as defined in Title 31. section 402 in which the 
wholesale licensee is the general partner and may lend money to 
the partnership and to the general partner. 
A. 
Notwithstanding the provisions of Title 31, section 433, 
subsection 
1, 
a 
certificate of 
approval 
holder 
or its 
affiliate or 
subsidiary that participates 
in 
a 
limited 
partnership pursuant to this subsection may not require as a 
term or condition to any such partnership agreement that the 
certificate 
of 
approval 
holder 
or 
its 
affiliate 
or 
subsidiary be given any right to participate in the control 
of the partnership's business. 
B. 
Notwithstanding the provisions of Title 31, chapter 11, 
a 
limited 
partnership 
established 
pursuant 
to 
this 
subsection terminates within 10 years of the date of filing 
the certificate of limited partnership pursuant to Title 31, 
section 421. 
SUMMARY 
Currently, because brewers are not permitted by law to have 
a 
financial interest in a wholesaler, 
brewers cannot provide 
financing to prospective wholesalers who may have the necessary 
business expertise but who lack sufficient capital with which to 
buy a malt liquor distributorship. 
This bill allows brewers and wholesalers to form limited 
partnerships where the brewer would be the limited partner while 
the wholesaler would be the general partner. 
Consistent with the 
Maine Revised Uniform Limited Partnership Act, only the general 
partner would be involved in day-to-day management. 
The bill 
also 
provides 
a 
10-year 
maximum 
term 
for 
any 
brewer 
and 
wholesaler limited partnership.