An Act To Establish a Public Service Berthing Vessel License for the Sale of Liquor
Maine Legislature, Session 127, LD 1690
Committee: Veterans and Legal Affairs
Sponsors: MIRAMANT, HOBBINS, ALFOND, LANGLEY, PATRICK, EVANGELOS, WARD
Amends: 28-A MRSA §2, 28-A MRSA §1012, 28-A MRSA §1080

Legislative Document 
No. 1690 
S.P. 696 
In Senate, March 31, 2016 
An Act To Establish a Public Service Berthing Vessel License for the 
Sale of Liquor 
(AFTER DEADLINE) 
Approved for introduction by a majority of the Legislative Council pursuant to Joint Rule 
205. 
Reference to the Committee on Veterans and Legal Affairs suggested and ordered printed. 
HEATHER J.R. PRIEST 
Secretary of the Senate 
Presented by Senator MIRAMANT of Knox. 
Cosponsored by Representative HOBBINS of Saco and 
Senators: ALFOND of Cumberland, LANGLEY of Hancock, PATRICK of Oxford, 
Representatives: EVANGELOS of Friendship, WARD of Dedham. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  28-A MRSA §2, sub-§15, ¶W is enacted to read: 
W.  "Public service berthing vessel" means any ship, vessel or boat of any kind used 
for navigation of the coastal waters of the State or for commercial navigation of 
inland waters of the State and licensed to carry not fewer than 6 passengers under the 
requirements of the Public Utilities Commission or the United States Coast Guard 
with overnight berthing capacity for all passengers and in which one or more meals 
are prepared and served to passengers on board the vessel daily, and that regularly 
leaves the vessel's home port for overnight voyages of at least one night. 
Sec. 2.  28-A MRSA §2, sub-§16-B is enacted to read: 
16-B.  Leaving port.  "Leaving port" means that a public service berthing vessel has 
left the confines of the port from which it originally embarked upon its voyage. 
Sec. 3.  28-A MRSA §2, sub-§23-B is enacted to read: 
23-B.  Ported or docked.  "Ported or docked" means, in reference to a public service 
berthing vessel, that the vessel is tied up to the original berth, mooring or dock from 
which the public service berthing vessel embarked upon its voyage or any other berth, 
mooring or dock located in the same coastal port in the State or inland waters in the State 
from which the public service berthing vessel embarked upon its voyage. 
Sec. 4.  28-A MRSA §2, sub-§24-A is enacted to read: 
24-A.  Reaching port.  "Reaching port" means that a public service berthing vessel 
operating on coastal waters of the State has returned to the confines of the port from 
which it originally embarked upon its voyage. 
Sec. 5.  28-A MRSA §1012, sub-§7 is enacted to read: 
7.  Public service berthing vessel license.  A public service berthing vessel may 
obtain a license to sell spirits, wine and malt liquor to be consumed on premises pursuant 
to section 1080 subject to the following fees. 
A.  The license fee for a one-day license is $50. 
B.  The license fee for a 2-day license is $65. 
C.  The license fee for a 5-day license is $110. 
D.  The license fee for an 8-day license is $155. 
E.  The license fee for an 11-day license is $200. 
F.  The license fee for a 14-day license is $245. 
Sec. 6.  28-A MRSA §1080 is enacted to read: 
§1080.  Public service berthing vessels 
1.  Issuance of licenses.  Notwithstanding section 1077, the bureau may issue a 
license under this section to a public service berthing vessel for the sale of spirits, wine 
and malt liquor to be consumed on the premises. 
2.  Requirements.  The requirements and conditions for issuing a license to a public 
service berthing vessel are as follows. 
A.  The bureau shall require that a public service berthing vessel maintain a suitable 
kitchen or galley and be able to prepare and serve meals to passengers on a daily 
basis. 
B.  Except as provided in subparagraph (1), a license issued under this section to a 
public service berthing vessel operating within the State authorizes the licensee to sell 
liquor on the public service berthing vessel after leaving port and before reaching port 
within the State and a license issued under this section to a public service berthing 
vessel operating on inland waters authorizes the licensee to sell liquor on board the 
public service berthing vessel after leaving and before docking on inland waters. 
(1)  A licensee may sell liquor for consumption on board a public service 
berthing vessel that is in port or docked only if prior approval for the sale is 
obtained from the bureau under the license application procedure in section 653. 
A separate approval must be obtained for each port or dock location from which 
on-board sales of liquor are to be made. 
C.  A public service berthing vessel licensed to sell liquor under this section may sell 
liquor on Sundays only between the hours of 5:00 a.m. and 1:00 a.m. the following 
day on inland waters and when the public service berthing vessel is within the 3-mile 
limit on coastal waters. 
D.  Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 121 and 122, a public service berthing 
vessel on inland waters may sell liquor without approval of the municipal officers or, 
in the case of unincorporated places, the county commissioners. 
E.  A vessel that does not leave its home port or dock for at least one night during the 
vessel's period of licensure is not considered a public service berthing vessel and is 
ineligible for future licensure by the bureau for the remainder of the calendar year. 
3.  Embarkation and disembarkation.  A public service berthing vessel that 
embarks after 5:00 p.m. on the first day of the public service berthing vessel's voyage 
may serve liquor between the hours of 5:00 p.m. and midnight after the public service 
berthing vessel has cast off lines from the dock and is underway on inland waters or has 
left port even if the first day of the public service berthing vessel's license will not start 
until after midnight of the day that the public service berthing vessel leaves. 
A public service berthing vessel that embarks after midnight and before 5:00 p.m. will be 
considered to be on the first day of the public service berthing vessel's voyage under its 
license under this section.  All sales, service, possession and consumption of liquor by 
passengers must cease upon the public service berthing vessel's reaching port or being 
ported or docked unless prior approval for the sales has been obtained from the bureau 
under the license application procedure in section 653, which would allow the sales, 
service, possession or consumption of liquor aboard the public service berthing vessel 
until midnight of the last day of the public service berthing vessel's licensure under this 
section.  Any service of liquor after midnight of the last day of licensure under this 
section, except as provided in subsection 4, is considered prima facie evidence of a 
violation of section 2078. 
4.  Emergencies.  A public service berthing vessel operating on coastal waters that 
experiences a mechanical or a weather-related emergency that prevents the public service 
berthing vessel from returning to the public service berthing vessel's original port of 
embarkation and disembarking passengers before midnight on the last day of licensure 
under this section must notify the United States Coast Guard and the Department of 
Marine Resources, Bureau of Marine Patrol of the emergency and upon return must 
notify the bureau of the date and time of the notification made to the United States Coast 
Guard and the Bureau of Marine Patrol and facts surrounding the emergency. 
A public service berthing vessel operating on inland waters that experiences a mechanical 
or a weather-related emergency that prevents the public service berthing vessel from 
returning to the public service berthing vessel's original dock of embarkation and 
disembarking passengers before midnight on the last day of licensure under this section 
for that voyage must notify the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, Bureau of 
Warden Service of the public service berthing vessel's emergency and upon return must 
notify the bureau of the date and time of the notification made to the Bureau of Warden 
Service and the facts surrounding the emergency. 
A licensee shall pay a fee of $50 per day for every day that the public service berthing 
vessel has not returned to its original port or dock of embarkation past the expiration date 
of licensure under this section. Payment of this fee is not required in the case of an 
emergency in which passengers had to be evacuated from the public service berthing 
vessel during the period of licensure because of the emergency. 
5.  Storage of liquor.   During periods of nonlicensure and upon inspection and 
approval by the division of liquor licensing within the bureau, a licensee who has 
remaining liquor inventory and who plans on applying for additional licenses under this 
section during the same calendar year may store the liquor at a location agreed upon by 
the bureau until the next license applied for is approved by the bureau.  The liquor may be 
removed from storage and taken to the public service berthing vessel in preparation for 
the subsequent voyage as long as passengers are not berthed on the public service 
berthing vessel at that time.  An inventory of liquor to be stored at the agreed-upon 
location must be sent to the bureau upon the inventory being placed into storage and is 
subject to verification by the bureau upon request. 
If a public service berthing vessel is licensed only once and does not plan to apply for 
another license under this section, liquor may be returned to the wholesalers in 
accordance with bureau rules as long as the licensee provides to the bureau an inventory 
of the liquor to be returned and the licensee receives written permission from the bureau 
to make the return. 
6.  License types.  Pursuant to section 1012, subsection 7, the bureau may issue one-
day, 2-day, 5-day, 8-day, 11-day and 14-day licenses.  The bureau shall adopt rules 
establishing departure and return times of public service berthing vessels for one-day, 2-
day, 5-day, 8-day, 11-day and 14-day licenses.  Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection 
are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A. 
SUMMARY 
This bill authorizes the Department of Administrative and Financial Services, Bureau 
of Alcoholic Beverages and Lottery Operations to issue licenses to public service 
berthing vessels for the sale of spirits, wine and malt liquor on overnight voyages of at 
least one night.  The bill establishes requirements and fees for such licensing.