An Act To Estab1ish A Wine Connoisseur Permit Further amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and before the summary and inserting in its place the following: Sec. 1. 28-A MRSA §1352 is enacted to read: §1352. Wine connoisseur permit L Permit to ship vine. Notwithstanding sections 2073, 2077 and 2077-B, a person 21 years of age or older may apply to the bureau for a wine connoisseur permit on forms provided by the bureau. A holder of a wine connoisseur permit may order up to a total of 12 9-liter cases of wine per year from in-state or out-of-state wineries to be shipped ·to the permit holder's residence for the permit holder's personal use and not for resale. A wine connoisseur permit may not be issued to an establishment licensed to sell alcoholic beverages for on-premises or off-premises consumption. For each shipment, a holder of a wine connoisseur permit shall comply with the following. Page l-LR0357(3) COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Maine Legislature, Session 122, LD 0560
Committee Amendment CA_B_H975 (House)
Amends: 28-A MRSA §1352

'. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
~!f;'1 to H.P. 415, L.D. 560, Bill, "An 
Act To Permit Interstate Wine and Malt Liquor Sales and Delivery 
to Homes" 
Amend the bill by striking out the tit"le and substituting 
the following: 
'An Act To Estab1ish A Wine Connoisseur Permit' 
Further amend the bill by striking out everything after the 
enacting clause and before the summary and inserting in its place 
the following: 
'Sec. 1. 28-A MRSA §1352 is enacted to read: 
§1352. 
Wine connoisseur permit 
L 
Permit to ship vine. 
Notwithstanding sections 2073, 
2077 and 2077-B, a person 21 years of age or older may apply to 
the bureau for a wine connoisseur permit on forms provided by the 
bureau. 
A holder of a wine connoisseur permit may order up to a 
total of 12 9-liter cases of wine per year from in-state or 
out-of-state wineries 
to 
be 
shipped ·to the 
permit holder's 
residence 
for 
the permit holder's personal use 
and not for 
resale. 
A wine 
connoisseur permit may 
not be 
issued to 
an 
establishment 
licensed 
to 
sell 
alcoholic 
beverages 
for 
on-premises or off-premises consumption. 
For each shipment, 
a 
holder of 
a 
wine 
connoisseur permit 
shall 
comply with 
the 
following. 
Page l-LR0357(3) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
~i::J. 
~.~ 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
to H.P. 415, L.D. 560 
A. 
Prior 
to 
ordering 
a 
shipment 
of 
wine, 
the 
wine 
connoisseur permit holder shall provide the nearest licensed 
wine wholesaler with the opportunity to distribute the wine 
the permit holder desires to a retailer within 20 miles of 
the 
permit 
holder's 
residence 
that 
sells 
wine 
for 
off-premises consumption. 
If the licensed wine wholesaler 
does not identify a retailer within 20 miles of· the permit 
holder's residence within 48 hours. the permit holder may 
have the wine shipped directly from the winery. 
B. 
The holder of the wine connoisseur permit shall confirm 
with the winery that the shipment will be conspicuously 
labeled to indicate that the contents of the package include 
wine and may be delivered only to the intended recipient. 
C. 
The wine shipment must be delivered by common carrier. 
as defined in Title 12. section 6001. subsection 8. 
The 
common carrier is authqrized to make delivery of the wine to 
the holder of the wine connoisseur permit after the permit 
holder presents the common carrier with the wine connoisseur 
permit and proof of the permit holder's identity. 
D. 
Within 30 days of receiving a shipment. the holder of a 
wine connoisseur permit shall submit to the bureau a copy of 
the receipt for that shipment and submit all applicable 
taxes along with a tax form provided by the bureau. 
E. 
The 
wine 
connoisseur permit holder 
shall retain 
a 
receipt for each transaction under this section for 2 years 
and provide the receipt to the bureau upon request. 
2. 
Permit fee. 
The fee for a wine connoisseur permit is 
$50. 
The annual renewal fee is $25. 
3. 
Waiver of fee. 
The bureau may waive the permit fee if 
an applicant for a wine connoisseur permit provides proof that 
the applicant made a purchase within the previous 6 months from a 
farm winery licensed in accordance with section 1355. 
4. 
Compliance with beverage container deposit law. 
The 
bureau 
is 
authorized 
to 
adopt 
rules 
so 
that 
wine 
bottles 
delivered to the holder of a wine connoisseur permit comply with 
the beverage container deposit law pursuant to Title 32. chapter 
28. 
Rules adopted in accordance with this subsection are routine 
technical rules as defined in Title 5. chapter 375. subchapter 
2-A. 
5. 
Bureau to provide 
name 
of nearest wholesaler. 
In 
accordance with subsection I. paragraph A. 
the bureau shall 
provide to a wine connoisseur permit holder upon issuance of the 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
• 
~ 
~~-' 
~\. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
to H.P. 415, L.D. 560 
permit the name of the licensed wine wholesaler nearest to the 
home address of the permit holder. 
6. 
ViolatioD. 
A person violates this section if, after 
receiving notice from the bureau to cease and desist, the person 
continues the activities in violation of this section. 
A person 
who violates this section commits a civil violation for which a 
fine of not more 
than $500 
may be 
adjudged. 
A person who 
violates this 
section after having previously violated this 
section commits a civil violation for which a fine of not more 
than $2,500 may be adjudged.' 
SUMMARY 
This amendment replaces the bill and is the minority report 
of the committee. 
This amendment establishes a wine connoisseur 
permit. 
This permit provides that a person may have up to 12 
cases of wine shipped from in-state or out-of-state wineries by 
way of a common carrier. 
The fee for a wine connoisseur permit 
is $50 and the annual renewal fee is $25. 
The holder of a wine 
connoisseur permit is required to pay all applicable taxes and 
must retain records of wine shipments for 2 years. 
The amendment 
requires the holder of a 
permit to provide the nearest wine 
wholesaler the opportunity to obtain the wine. 
The wholesaler 
would have 48 hours to identify a retail location where that wine 
would become available for sale. 
This amendment provides that 
the fee for the permit is waived if the applicant for the permit 
shows proof that the applicant made a purchase from a farm winery 
in Maine within the previous 6 months. 
Finally, this amendment 
grants routine technical rulemaking authority to the Department 
of Public Safety, Division of Liquor Licensing and Compliance to 
ensure that bottles of wine received using a wine connoisseur 
permit comply with the bottle deposit law. 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Approved: 04/05/06 ~ae 
LD560 
LR0357(03) 
An Act To Permit Interstate Wine and Malt Liquor Sales and Delivery to Homes 
\\~." 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment .!y 
Committee: Legal and Veterans Affairs 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Minority Report 
Fiscal Note 
Current biennium revenue increase - General Fund 
Minor cost increase - General Fund 
Correctional and Judicial Impact Statements 
Establishes a new civil violation. 
The collection of additional fines may also increase General ~und revenue by minor amounts 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
Authorizing a $50 registration fee to be paid by "wine connoisseur" permit holders will increase General Fund 
revenues collected by the Department of Public Safety. The amounts will depend on the number of Maine residents 
who apply for wine connoisseur permits. The number of permits is not estimated in this fiscal note. 
LR0357(3) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1