An Act To Fund Opioid Treatment by Establishing an Excise Tax on Manufacturers of Opioids
Maine Legislature, Session 129, LD 1362
Committee: Health and Human Services
Sponsors: O'NEIL, CHIPMAN, BAILEY, GATTINE, PERRY, TIPPING, WARREN, GRATWICK
Amends: 22 MRSA §1511, 22 MRSA §1513

Legislative Document
No. 1362
H.P. 984
House of Representatives, March 21, 2019
An Act To Fund Opioid Treatment by Establishing an Excise Tax 
on Manufacturers of Opioids
Reference to the Committee on Health and Human Services suggested and ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative O'NEIL of Saco.
Cosponsored by Senator CHIPMAN of Cumberland and
Representatives: BAILEY of Saco, GATTINE of Westbrook, McCREIGHT of Harpswell, 
PERRY of Calais, TIPPING of Orono, WARREN of Hallowell, Senators: GRATWICK of 
Penobscot, SANBORN, L. of Cumberland.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  22 MRSA §1511, sub-§2, ¶¶B and C, as enacted by PL 1999, c. 401, Pt. 
V, §1, are amended to read:
B.  Money from any other source, whether public or private, designated for deposit 
into or credited to the fund; and
C.  Interest earned or other investment income on balances in the fund.; and
Sec. 2.  22 MRSA §1511, sub-§2, ¶D is enacted to read:
D.  Proceeds from the tax on opioids under Title 36, section 4921.  Proceeds credited 
to the fund under this paragraph must be deposited into the Opioid Stewardship Fund 
under section 1513.
Sec. 3.  22 MRSA §1511, sub-§6, ¶G, as amended by PL 2017, c. 407, Pt. A, 
§71, is further amended to read:
G.  Substance use disorder prevention and treatment; and
Sec. 4.  22 MRSA §1511, sub-§6, ¶H, as amended by PL 2007, c. 539, Pt. IIII, 
§3, is further amended to read:
H.  Comprehensive school health and nutrition programs, including school-based 
health centers.; and
Sec. 5.  22 MRSA §1511, sub-§6, ¶I is enacted to read:
I.  Opioid use disorder prevention, treatment and recovery services funded under 
section 1513.
Sec. 6.  22 MRSA §1513 is enacted to read:
§1513.  Opioid Stewardship Fund
1.  Fund established.  The Opioid Stewardship Fund is established as a restricted 
account within the fund under section 1511, subsection 11 for the purpose of funding the 
services under section 1511, subsection 6, paragraph I. The Opioid Stewardship Fund is 
funded from the tax on opioids collected from all proceeds received under section 1511, 
subsection 2, paragraph D and appropriations, allocations and contributions from private 
and public sources.  Any unexpended balances remaining in the Opioid Stewardship Fund 
at the end of any fiscal year do not lapse and must be carried forward to the next fiscal 
year.
2.  Report.  By April 1st of each calendar year, a manufacturer subject to the tax 
under Title 36, section 4921 shall report to the department in a form determined by the 
department the following information on opioids made by the manufacturer subject to the 
tax that were distributed in the State the previous calendar year:
A.  The manufacturer's name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, website 
address and United States Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration 
registration number and any registration or identification number required by an 
agency of the State;
B.  The name, address and United States Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement 
Administration registration number of the person to whom the opioids subject to the 
tax under Title 36, section 4921 were provided in the State and each date the opioids 
were provided;
C.  The gross receipts in dollars of all opioids distributed;
D.  The name and national drug code of each opioid distributed;
E.  The number of containers and the metric quantity of controlled substance in each 
container of opioids distributed;
F.  The total number of morphine milligram equivalents of opioids that were 
distributed; and
G.  Any other information determined necessary by the department.
The department shall forward the information received under this subsection to the State 
Tax Assessor for the administration of the tax under Title 36, section 4921.  For purposes 
of this subsection, "distribution" has the same meaning as in Title 36, section 4921, 
subsection 1, paragraph B.
3.  Rules.  The department, in consultation with the Maine Board of Pharmacy under 
Title 32, section 13711, shall adopt rules to carry out the purposes of this section.  Rules 
adopted under this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 
375, subchapter 2-A.
Sec. 7.  36 MRSA c. 723 is enacted to read:
CHAPTER 723
TAX ON OPIOIDS
§4921.  Opioid tax
1.  Definitions.  As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise indicates, the 
following terms have the following meanings.
A.  "Distribution" means the final sale of opioids to a consumer.
B.  "Manufacturer" means a person that makes opioids.
C.  "Opiate" means the dried, condensed juice of a poppy, Papaver somniferum L., 
that has a narcotic, soporific, analgesic and astringent effect.
D.  "Opioid" means:
(1)  An opiate;
(2)  A synthetic or semisynthetic narcotic that has effects similar to natural opium 
alkaloids but is not derived from opium; or
(3)  A derivative of an opioid described in subparagraph (1) or (2).
2.  Tax rate.  Beginning January 1, 2020, an excise tax is imposed upon opioids 
manufactured by a manufacturer that are distributed in the State at the rate of 0.1¢ per 
morphine milligram equivalent.
3.  Exemptions.  A person is exempted from the tax under this section:
A.  If the State is prohibited from taxing the person under the United States 
Constitution or laws of the United States or under the Constitution of Maine; or
B.  For opioids distributed in the State for the purpose of medication-assisted 
treatment of substance use disorder.  The Maine Board of Pharmacy under Title 32, 
section 13711 periodically shall provide to the assessor a list of medications 
exempted under this paragraph.
4.  Avoidance.  A manufacturer subject to the provisions of this section may not pass 
a tax assessed under this section on to a consumer in the State.  A manufacturer that 
violates this subsection commits a civil violation for which a penalty of not more than 
$1,000,000 may be adjudged.
5.  Revenue.  All taxes, interest, penalties and other amounts collected from the tax 
imposed under this section must be deposited into the Fund for a Healthy Maine under 
Title 22, section 1511, subsection 2, paragraph D.
Sec. 8.  Manufacturers to report for previous year.  By April 1, 2020, a 
manufacturer subject to the tax under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 36, section 4921 
shall submit a report to the Department of Health and Human Services under Title 22, 
section 1513, subsection 2 for the calendar year 2019.
SUMMARY
This bill establishes the Opioid Stewardship Fund within the Fund for a Healthy 
Maine for the purpose of supporting opioid use disorder prevention, treatment and 
recovery funded by an excise tax of 0.1¢ per morphine milligram equivalent assessed 
against opioid drug manufacturers for opioid drugs purchased by consumers in the State.