An Act To Address the Pervasive Effect of Substance Abuse in Maine
Maine Legislature, Session 123, LD 1577
Committee: Legal and Veterans Affairs
Sponsors: WEBSTER, MARTIN, CAIN, FARRINGTON, PATRICK, PERRY, PINGREE, MARRACI-IE
Amends: 28-A MRSA §2, 28-A MRSA §1012, 28-A MRSA §1351-A, 28-A MRSA §1351-B, 28-A MRSA §1355-A, 28-A MRSA §1361, 28-A MRSA §1362, 28-A MRSA §1502, 28-A MRSA §1551

Legislative Document 
No.IS77 
H.P.1102 
House of Representatives, March 20, 2007 
An Act To Address the Pervasive Effect of Substance Abuse in 
Maine 
Reference to the Committee on Legal and Veterans Affairs suggested and ordered printed. 
'17/~ /J7.11!~ 
MllLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
• 
Clerk 
Presented by Representative WEBSTER of Freeport. 
Cosponsored by Senator MARTIN of Aroostook and 
... 
Representatives: CAIN of Orono, FARRINGTON of Gorham, PATRICK of Rumford, PERRY 
of Calais, PINGREE of North Haven, Senator: MARRACI-IE of Kennebec. 
Pnnled on rcr..:yded papt:r 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 28-A MRSA §2, sub-§12-B is enacted to read: 
12-B. Importer. "Importer" means any person other than a licensed manufacturer, 
wherever resident or located, importing or causing to be imported for sale or for use in 
this State any distilled spirits. 
Sec. 2. 28-A MRSA §1012, sub-§5, as enacted by PL 2005, c. 390, §4, IS 
amended to read: 
II 
5. Small distillery off-premises license. Notwithstanding chapter 19, a person who 
holds a distiller license under section 1551, subseetion 3, paragraph A 1355-A and is a 
small distillery may obtain a small distillery off-premises license to sell spirits for 
consumption off the distillery premises, as long as the spirits are manufactured by the 
distillery, the distiller obtained the spirits for sale from the State and the spirits are sold 
on the premises of the distillery at the retail prices established by the alcohol bureau in 
accordance with its rules. 
A. 
The small distillery off-premises license fee is $100 annually. 
B. 
A person may not hold more than one small distillery off-premises license. 
C. A small distillery off-premises licensee shall keep records regarding off-premises 
sales separate and apart from records relating to any other transaction in which the 
licensee engages. 
D. 
The bureau, upon application by the holder of a small distillery off-premises 
license whose distillery has produced distilled spirits in an amount that exceeds 
50,000 gallons in one year, may renew that holder's small distillery off-premises 
license for only one additional year. 
Sec. 3. 28-A MRSA §1351-A is enacted to read: 
§1351-A. Disposal of fees 
The bureau shall deposit the fees collected under this chapter to the General Fund. 
The amount of funds appropriated from the General Fund to the Office of Substance 
Abuse, as established in Title 5, chapter 52l, may not be less than the dollar amount 
collected or received by the bureau under this chapter. Notwithstanding any provision of 
law to the contrary, funds appropriated to the Office of Substance Abuse pursuant to this 
section must be used for substance abuse prevention, substance abuse case treatment, 
including case management and monitoring, substance abuse enforcement programs and 
drug courts, as established pursuant to Title 4, section 421. 
Sec. 4. 28-A MRSA §1351-B is enacted to read: 
, Page 1 - 123LR2139(Ol)-1 
• 
• 
&. 
§1351-B. Rules 
The bureau may adopt rules under the Maine Administrative Procedure Act to 
provide for the administration of this chapter. 
Rules adopted under this section are 
routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 275, subchapter 2-A. 
Sec. 5. 28-A MRSA §1355-A is enacted to read: 
§1355-A. Distillers and importers license 
1. Issuance of licenses. A person who manufactures distilled spirits that are sold in 
the State and person who imports distilled spirits into the State for resale must obtain a 
license from the bureau. 
2. Fees. The fees for licenses issued under this section are based on the following 
schedule: 
A. The annual fee for in-state manufacturers of distilled spirits is $1,000; 
B. The annual fee for out-of-state manufacturers of distilled spirits is as follows: 
(1) For out-of-state manufacturers of distilled spirits with annual sales in the 
State of 10,000 gallons or greater, the fee is $50,000; 
(2) For out-of-state manufacturers of distilled spirits with annual sales in the 
State of less than 10,000 gallons but greater than 5,000 gallons, the fee is 
$25,000; 
(3) For out-of-state manufacturers of distilled spirits with annual sales in the 
State of 5,000 gallons or less, but greater than 1,000 gallons, the fee is $5,000; 
and 
(4) For out-of-state manufacturers of distilled spirits with annual sales in the 
State of 1,000 gallons or less, the fee is $1,000; 
C. The annual fee for importers of distilled spirits is $5,000; and 
D. 
The initial fee for out-of-state manufacturers of distilled spirits with no prior 
Maine sales is $10,000. 
For purposes of this subsection, "annual sales" means the annual sales in the immediately 
preceding calendar year. 
Sec. 6. 28-A MRSA §1361, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2001, c. 20, § 1, is further 
amended to read: 
2. Fee for certificate of approval. The fee for a certificate of approval is $600 
$10,000 per year for malt liquor only and $600 $5,000 for wine only, except that the fee 
for a manufacturer or foreign wholesaler of wine who ships 120 gallons of wine or less 
per year is $100. Payment of the fee must accompany the application for the certificate. 
Sec. 7. 28-A MRSA §1362, as amended by PL 1997, c. 373, § 117, is repealed. 
I 
Sec. 8. 28-A MRSA §1502, sub-§I, as amended by PL 1991, c. 376, §54, is 
further amended to read: 
1. Fee. The annual license fee is $W $2,500. 
Sec. 9. 28-A MRSA §1551, sub-§I, as enacted by PL 1987, c. 342, § 114, is 
amended to read: 
1. Certificate of approval. The license fees for certificates of approval are: 
A. 
For malt liquor (one year) ............. $600 $10,000; and 
B. 
For wine (one year) .................... $600 $5,000. 
Sec. 10. 28-A MRSA §1551, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 1987, c. 342, § 114, is 
further amended to read: 
2. Wholesale licenses. The license fees for wholesale licenses are: 
A. 
For the sale of malt liquor (one year) ........ $600 $10,000; 
B. 
For the storage of malt liquor (one month) ............................................... $50; 
C. 
For the sale of wine (one year) ........ $600 $10,000; and 
D. 
For the storage of wine (one month) ..... $50. 
Sec. 11. 28-A MRSA §1551, sub-§3, ~A, as enacted by PL 1987, c. 342, § 114, 
is repealed. 
Sec. 12. 28-A MRSA §1551, sub-§4, ~A, as amended by PL 1991, c. 376, §55, 
is further amended to read: 
A. 
Sales representative of manufacturer or certificate of approval holder (one 
year) .................................................. .. $W $2,500. 
Sec. 13. Maine Revised Statutes headnote amended; revision clause. In 
the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 28-A, chapter 51, subchapter 2, in the subchapter 
headnote, the word "manufacturers" is amended to read "manufacturers, distillers and 
importers" and the Revisor of Statutes shall implement this revision when updating, 
publishing or republishing the statutes. 
Sec. 14. Effective date. Those sections of this Act that amend the Maine Revised 
Statutes, Title 28-A, section 1361, subsection 2; section 1502, subsection 1; section 1551, 
subsection 1; section 1551, subsection 2; section 1551, subsection 3; section 1551, 
subsection 4; and that section of this Act that enacts Title 28-A, section 1355-A take 
effect January 1, 2008. 
SUMMARY 
The purpose of this bill is to raise and dedicate additional funds to be used through 
the Office of Substance Abuse for substance abuse prevention, case treatment, case 
management and monitoring, enforcement programs and drug courts. The increased 
funding source is through an increase of existing license and certificate of approval fees 
presently paid by those persons and entities that either manufacture or distribute malt 
liquor, wine and distilled spirits within the State . 
..