An Act To Increase Consumer Choice for Wine
Maine Legislature, Session 124, LD 1008
Committee: Legal and Veterans Affairs
Sponsors: WALSH INNES, FITTS, CAIN, RUSSELL, STRANG BURGESS
Amends: 28-A MRSA §1355, 28-A MRSA §1403-A, 28-A MRSA §2077, 28-A MRSA §2077-B, 36 MRSA §1754-B

Legislative Document 
No. 1008 
H.P.696 
House of Representatives, March 12,2009 
An Act To Increase Consumer Choice for Wine 
Reference to the Committee on Legal and Veterans Affairs suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Representative WALSH INNES of Yarmouth. 
71/dJ~ 1J1. 71!11£~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Cosponsored by Representatives: FITTS of Pittsfield, McKANE of Newcastle and 
Representatives: CAIN of Orono, CORNELL du HOUX of Brunswick, PIOTTIofUnity, 
RUSSELL of Portland, STRANG BURGESS of Cumberland. 
Primed on rccych!d paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 28-A MRSA §1355, sub-§3, EiffE is enacted to read: 
E. A falTIl winery may accept orders for wine to be shipped to a consumer or licensee 
located within or outside the State by mail, telephone, Internet or any electronic or 
other means. All wine orders shipped to another state are subject to the laws and 
regulations. of the receiving state. As used in this paragraph, "outside the State" 
means any state other than Maine and any territory or possession of the United States, 
but does not mclude a foreign: country. 
Sec. 2. 28-A MRSA §1403-A is enacted to read: 
§1403-A. Direct shipment of wine 
1. Definitions. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the 
following telTIlshave the following meanings. 
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.. A. "Direct shipper" means a winery that has obtained a wine" direct shipper license 
under subsection 2. 
B. 
"Outside the State" means any state other than Maine and any territory or 
possession of the United States, but does not include a foreign country. 
2. Direct shipment of wine. A winery holding a federal basic wine manufacturing 
permit located within or outside the State may obtain a wine direct shipper license by 
fIling with the Liquor Licensing and Tax Division an application in a form determined by 
the bureau accompanied by an application fee of not more than $100 and a copy of the 
applicant's current federal basic wine manufacturing permit. . 
3. Direct shipper application. Before sending a shipment to a resident of this State, 
a direct shipper must fIle an application for a wine direct shipper license under subsection 
with the bureau on a fOlTIl issued by the bureau along with a true copy of its current 
alcoholic beverage license issued in this State or another state and a $100 registration fee. 
4. Delivery to person 21 years of age or older. Wine shipped pursuant to this 
section may be shipped only to a person 21 years of age or older and must be for the 
recipient's personal use only and not for resale. A direct shipper or 3rd-party carrier 
contracted by the direct shipper may deliver wine only to the person listed on the invoice 
or an adult member of the household, either of whom must provide a valid photo 
identification demonstrating proof of age. All containers used for shipment of wine under 
this section must be conspicuously labeled by the direct shipper. with· the words 
"CONTAINS ALCOHOL: SIGNATURE OF PERSON 21 YEARS OF AGE OR 
OLDER REQUIRED FOR DELIVERY." A 3rd-parly carrier contracted by a direct 
shipper shall register with the bureau as a direct shipper carrier on a form provided by the 
bureau and shall include on the form a description of the carrier's practice for verifying 
that recipients of alcoholic beverage shipments are 21 years of age or older. 
5. Bottle size and case limit. A direct shipper may not ship a container of wine of 
less than 750 milliliters and may ship no more than 12 cases, each of which may contain 
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no more than 9 liters or an equivalent volume, to anyone recipient address in a calendar 
year. 
36. Prohibited shipping areas. A direct shipper may not ship to any address in an 
area identified by the bureau as a prohibited shipping area or a local option area. 
7. License renewal. A direct shipper may annually renew its wine direct shipper 
license with the bureau by paying a $50 renewal fee and providing the bureau with a true 
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copy of its current alcoholic beverage license issued in this State or another state. 
8. Payment of state taxes. A direct shipper located outside of this State shall 
quarterly pay to the bureau all excise .and premium taxes and to the Department of 
Administrative and Financial Services, Bureau of Revenue Services all sales taxes due on 
sales to residents of the State in the preceding quarter, the amount of such taxes to be 
calculated as if the sale were in the State. 
9. Report. A direct shipper shall report to the bureau twice a year beginning January 
st of each year the name and address of each recipient of wine in the State, the total 
number of bottles shipped to anyone address during the reporting period, the value of 
each shipment and the 3rd-party carrier used to deliver shipments of wine. Reports 
required by this subsection must be submitted on forms provided by the bureau: 
10. Audit. The bureau may perfoID1 an audit of a direct shipper's records relevant to 
compliance with this section. 
A direct shipper shall provide copies of any records 
requested by the bureau within 10 business days of that request. 
11. Violation. A direct shipper or 3rd-party carrier who delivers or causes to be 
delivered wine to a person who has not attained 21 years of age in violation of subsection 
commits a Class D crime. Direct shipment of wine without a wine direct shipper license 
under subsection 2 constitutes a violation of the Maine Unfair Trade Practices Act. The 
bureau may suspend a wine direct shipper license for failure to comply with the shipment 
limits and reporting requirements required by this section. The bureau may revoke a . 
wine direct shipper license for subsequent failure to comply with the shipment limits and 
repOliing requirements. The bureau may accept payment of an offer in compromise in 
lieu of suspension; such payments must be determined by rule adopted by the bureau. 
12. Adoption of rules. The bureau shall adopt rules to carry out the purposes of this 
section, including but not limited to rules requiring specific labeling and registration 
requirements for direct shippers in order to ensure compliance with the laws governing 
alcoholic beverage containers in Title 32, chapter 28. Rules adopted pursuant to this 
subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A. 
Sec. 3. 28-AMRSA §2077, sub-§l-A, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 452, Pt. P, §7 
and affected by Pt. X, §2, is amended to read: 
1-A. Importation of malt liquor or wine into State. -It- Except as provided in 
section 1403-A, a person other than a wholesale licensee, small brewery licensee or faID1 
winery licensee may.not transport or cause to be transported malt liquor or wine into the 
State in a quantity greater than 3 gallons for malt liquor or 4 quarts for wine, unless it was 
legally purchased in the State. 
The following penalties apply to violations of tlus 
subsection. 
A. A person who illegally transports into the State wine or malt liquor in 2 quantity 
of less than 10 gallons commits a civil violation for which a fine of not more tha:n 
$500 must be adjudged. 
B. A person who illegally transports into the State wine or malt liquor in a quantity 
of 10 or more gallons commits a Class E crime, whlch is a strict liability crime as 
defmed in Title 17-A, section 34, subsection 4-A. 
Sec. 4. 28-A MRSA §2077, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2003, c. 452, Pt. P, §7 
and affected by Pt. X,·§2, is further amended to read: 
2. Transportation of malt liquor and wine within State. -A- Except as provided in 
section 1403-A. a person other than a licensee may not transport malt liquor, in a quantity 
greater than 3 gallons, or wine, in a quantity greater than 4 quarts, within the State unless 
it was purchased from an off-prenlise retail licensee. 
A. 
A person who illegally transports withln the State wine or malt liquor in a 
quantity of less thqn 10 gallons coinmits a civil violation for whlch a fine of not more 
than $500 must be adjudged. 
B. 
A person who illegally transports within the State wine or malt liquor in a 
quantity of 10 or more gallons commits a Class E crime, which is a strict liability 
crime as defined in Title 17-A, section 34, subsection 4-A. 
Sec. 5. 28-A MRSA §2077-B,sub-§1, as enacted by PL 1997, c. 501, §6, is 
amended to read: 
1. Prohibition. -A- Except as provided in section 1403-A, a person may not sell, 
furnish, deliver or purchase liquor from an out-of-state company by mail order. 
Sec. 6. 36 MRSA §1754-B, sub-§l, EjfH, as amended by PL 2007, c. 328, §6, is 
further amended to read: 
H.Every person that makes retail sales in thls State of tangible personal property or 
taxable services on behalf of the owner of that. property or the provider of those 
services; aHEl 
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Sec. 7. 36 MRS A §1754-B, sub-§l, <ijfI, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 328, §7, is 
amended to read: 
I. Every person not otherwise required to be registered that sells tangible personal 
property to the State and is required to register as a condition of doing business with 
the State pursuant to Title 5, section 1825-B7; and 
Sec. 8. 36 MRS A §1754-B, sub-§l, ,J is enacted to read: 
J. Every person that holds a wine direct shipper license under Title 28-A, section 
1403-A. 
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SUMMARY 
Tllis bill establishes a license to allow for the direct shipment of wine. The license 
allows certain in-state and out-of-state wineries to ship up to 12 cases of wine annually to 
recipients who are 21 years of age or older. The direct shipper or 3rd-party carrier 
contracted by the sllipper must be shown proof of age in order to make a delivery. Wine 
shipments must be conspicuously labeled that they contain alcohol and may be delivered 
only to a person 21 years of age or older. The bill requires that a direct shipper is 
required to pay all applicable taxes, including excise and premium taxes on wine. The 
bill establishes repOlting requirements for direct 'sllippers and lists specific penalties for 
specific violations of laws governing the direct sllipment of wine.