An Act To Clarify Definitions in the Laws Regarding the Licensing of Eating Establishments and Lodging Places
Maine Legislature, Session 128, LD 1675
Committee: Health and Human Services
Sponsors: HYMANSON
Amends: 5 MRSA §13063, 22 MRSA §2491, 22 MRSA §2492, 22 MRSA §2494, 22 MRSA §2495, 22 MRSA §2498, 25 MRSA §2468

Legislative Document
No. 1675
H.P. 1163
House of Representatives, December 20, 2017
An Act To Clarify Definitions in the Laws Regarding the Licensing 
of Eating Establishments and Lodging Places
Submitted by the Department of Health and Human Services pursuant to Joint Rule 203.
Received by the Clerk of the House on December 18, 2017.  Referred to the Committee on 
Health and Human Services pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to Joint 
Rule 401.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative HYMANSON of York.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  5 MRSA §13063, sub-§5, as amended by PL 2011, c. 304, Pt. C, §2 and 
c. 682, §38, is further amended to read:
5.  Retail business permitting program.  By February 1, 2012, the The ombudsman 
shall establish and administer a central permitting program for all permits required by 
retail businesses selling directly to the final consumer, including, but not limited to, 
permits required for the operation of hotels and motels, convenience stores and eating and 
lodging places establishments, and permits required for the sale of liquor or beer, tobacco, 
food, beverages, lottery tickets and gasoline.  Permits issued by the Department of 
Environmental Protection, the Department of Marine Resources and the Maine Land Use 
Planning Commission are not included in this program.   The ombudsman shall:
A.  Create a consolidated permit procedure that allows each business to check on a 
cover sheet all state permits for which it is applying and to receive all permit 
applications from a centralized office;
B.  Total all permit fees due from a business, collect those fees on a semiannual basis, 
with 1/2 of the total fees due by January 1st and 1/2 of the total fees due by July 1st, 
and distribute the fees to the appropriate funds or permitting entities;
C.  Forward a copy of the appropriate permit application to any commission, 
department, municipality or other agency that has responsibility for permitting that 
retail business;
D.  Develop a tracking system to track permits issued by state agencies.  This system 
must at a minimum include information on the applicant, agency involvement, time 
elapsed or expended on the permit and action taken;
E.  Coordinate and supervise the permitting process to ensure that all involved state 
agencies process the applications and complete any necessary inspections in a timely 
fashion; and
F.  Respond to inquiries from the business community and requests for information 
from the individual permitting entities, including reports on the status of an 
application.
A retail business is not required to participate in the retail business permitting program.  
An enforcement action taken against a retail business for a permit obtained through the 
retail business permitting program does not affect other permits issued to that same retail 
business through that program.
Sec. 2.  22 MRSA §2491, sub-§6, as amended by PL 2011, c. 193, Pt. A, §3, is 
repealed.
Sec. 3.  22 MRSA §2491, sub-§7, as amended by PL 2013, c. 264, §3, is repealed 
and the following enacted in its place:
7.  Eating establishment.  "Eating establishment" means any place where food or 
drink is prepared and served or served to the public for consumption on the premises or 
prepared and served or served ready to eat to the public for consumption off the premises.  
"Eating establishment" includes places in the entertainment, hospitality, recreation, 
restaurant and tourism industries; catering establishments; correctional facilities; hospital 
cafeterias; mobile eating places; public and private schools; retail frozen dairy product 
establishments; and workplace eating establishments and places where food is prepared 
for vending machines dispensing food other than in original sealed packages.  "Eating 
establishment" does not include:
A.  A place preparing and serving food that is licensed pursuant to state law by a state 
agency other than the department as long the licensing of the place includes regular 
food safety inspections;
B.  A place serving food only to residents, such as a boarding home, a retirement 
home or an independent living place; and
C.  A farm stand that offers only whole, uncut fresh fruits and vegetables. 
Sec. 4.  22 MRSA §2492, sub-§1, ¶B, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 452, Pt. K, §20 
and affected by Pt. X, §2, is repealed.
Sec. 5.  22 MRSA §2494, first ¶, as amended by PL 2011, c. 193, Pt. B, §1, is 
further amended to read:
Each application for, or for renewal of, a license to operate an eating establishment, 
eating and lodging place, lodging place, recreational camp, youth camp or campground 
within the meaning of this chapter must be accompanied by a fee, appropriate to the size 
of the establishment, place, camp or area of the licensee, determined by the department 
and not to exceed the fees listed below.  All fees collected by the department must be 
deposited into a special revenue account established for this purpose.  No such fee may be 
refunded.  No license may be assignable or transferable.  The fees may not exceed:
Sec. 6.  22 MRSA §2495, first ¶, as amended by PL 2011, c. 193, Pt. B, §3, is 
further amended to read:
The department shall, within 30 days following receipt of application, issue an annual 
license to operate any eating establishment, eating and lodging place, lodging place, 
recreational camp, youth camp or campground that is found to comply with this chapter 
and the rules adopted by the department.
Sec. 7.  22 MRSA §2498, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2013, c. 264, §6, is further 
amended to read:
1.  Authorization.  The department is authorized to impose one or more of the 
following sanctions when a violation of this chapter, or rules enacted pursuant to this 
chapter, occurs and the department determines that a sanction is necessary and 
appropriate to ensure compliance with state licensing rules or to protect the public health.
A.  The department may impose penalties for violations of this chapter, or the rules 
adopted pursuant to this chapter, on any eating establishment, eating and lodging 
place, lodging place, recreational camp, youth camp, public pool or public spa or 
campground.  The penalties may not be greater than $100 for each violation.  Each 
day that the violation remains uncorrected may be counted as a separate offense.  
Penalties may be imposed for each violation of the rules.
B.  The department may direct an eating establishment, eating and lodging place, 
lodging place, recreational camp, youth camp, public pool or public spa or 
campground to correct any violations in a manner and within a time frame that the 
department determines is appropriate to ensure compliance with state rules or to 
protect the public health.  Failure to correct violations within the time frames 
constitutes a separate finable violation.
C.  
Any person, corporation, firm or copartnership that operates any eating 
establishment, eating and lodging place, lodging place, recreational camp, youth 
camp, public pool or public spa or campground without first obtaining a license as 
required by this chapter must be punished, upon adjudication of unlicensed operation, 
by a fine of not less than $25 nor more than $200, and upon a 2nd or subsequent 
adjudication of unlicensed operation must be punished by a fine of not less than $200 
nor more than $500.  Each day any such person, corporation, firm or copartnership 
operates without obtaining a license constitutes a separate offense.
D.    In the event of any violation of this section or any rule pursuant to this chapter, 
the Attorney General may seek to enjoin a further violation, in addition to any other 
remedy.
E.  A person, corporation, firm or copartnership that fails to pay a penalty imposed 
pursuant to this chapter:
(1)  May be referred to the Attorney General for appropriate enforcement action; 
and
(2)  In addition to all fines and penalties imposed pursuant to this chapter, is 
liable for any interest, costs and fees incurred by the department, including 
attorney's fees.
Sec. 8.  25 MRSA §2468, sub-§2, ¶A, as amended by PL 2015, c. 396, §1, is 
further amended to read:
A.  Each unit in any building of multifamily occupancy; a fraternity house, sorority 
house or dormitory that is affiliated with an educational facility; a children's home, 
emergency children's shelter, children's residential care facility, shelter for homeless 
children or specialized children's home as defined in Title 22, section 8101; or a 
hotel, motel, inn or bed and breakfast licensed as an eating and lodging place 
establishment or a lodging place under Title 22, chapter 562.  The owner shall use a 
carbon monoxide detector that is powered by:
(1)  Both the electrical service in the building and a battery; 
(2)  A nonreplaceable 10-year battery; or
(3)  A replaceable battery if the carbon monoxide detector uses a low-power 
radio frequency wireless communication signal, uses multiple sensors, has low-
frequency audible notification capability or is connected to a control panel;
Sec. 9.  25 MRSA §2468, sub-§4, ¶B, as enacted by PL 2011, c. 553, §2, is 
amended to read:
B.  A hotel, motel, inn or bed and breakfast upon initial licensure of that new 
construction as an eating and lodging place establishment or a lodging place under 
Title 22, chapter 562 on or after August 1, 2012; or
SUMMARY
This bill repeals the definition of "eating and lodging place" in the laws regarding 
campgrounds, recreational camps, youth camps and eating establishments and removes 
references to the term in other provisions of law.  It clarifies the definition of "eating 
establishment" to provide exceptions to a broad definition and amends other provisions of 
law to agree with the changes.