An Act To Clarify Provisions of the Bluebeny Tax
Maine Legislature, Session 129, LD 1482
Committee Amendment CA_A_H340 (House)
Amends: 36 MRSA §4303, 36 MRSA §4307, 36 MRSA §4308, 36 MRSA §4316

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" fJ,, to H.P. 1084, L.D. 1482, Bill, "An Act To 
Clarify Provisions of the Bluebeny Tax" 
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and inserting the 
following: 
'Sec. 1. 36 MRSA §4303, first ,r, as amended by PL 2013, c. 331, Pt. C, §23, is 
further amended to read: 
There is levied and imposed a tax at the rate of 1 1/2¢ per pound on all wild 
blueberries processed in this the State and on all unprocessed wild blueberries shipped to 
a destination outside this the State. All wild blueberries harvested in the State that are to 
be shipped outside the State for processing must be weighed on a state-certified scale in 
the State prior to being shipped outside the State. The tax is computed on the gross 
weight of the wild blueberries as delivered prior to any processing or shipping. The 
processor that first receives unprocessed wild blueberries in the State, or the shipper that 
transports unprocessed wild blueberries to a destination outside the State, is responsible 
for reporting and paying the tax. 
Sec. 2. 36 MRSA §4307, as amended by PL 2013, c. 331, Pt. C, §28, is further 
amended to read: 
§4307. Records and reports; payment of tax 
Every processor or shipper responsible for reporting and paying the tax imposed by 
section 4303 shall, on or before November 1st of each year, report to the State Tax 
Assessor the quantity of unprocessed wild blueben'ies that are processed in this the State 
et\ shipped to a destination outside the State or imported from a destination outside the 
State during the current season, on forms furnished by the State Tax Assessor. The report 
must contain the information pertinent to collection of tax under this chapter as the State 
Tax Assessor prescribes. 
With the report, each processor or shipper shall forward 
payment of the full 1 1/2¢ per pound tax upon all wild blueberries reported. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to H.P. 1084, L.D. 1482 
1. 
Shippers. 
A shipper shall report the amount of tax due for each load of 
unprocessed wild blueberries subject to the tax shipped to a destination outside the State, 
including for each load: 
A. The date shipped; and 
B. The gross weight of the wild blueberries shipped. 
2. Report to commission. The State Tax Assessor annually shall forward a report 
with a summary of the data collected under this section to the Wild Blueberry 
Commission of Maine. including the total number of pounds of the following: 
A. Wild blueberries grown in the State; 
B. Wild blueberries processed in the State; 
C. Unprocessed wild blueberries imported into the State; and 
D. Unprocessed wild blueberries exported from the State. 
Sec. 3. 36 MRSA §4308, as amended PL 1997, c. 511, §17 and PL 2011, c. 657, 
Pt. W, §6, is further amended to read: 
§4308. Inspection 
The State Tax Assessor er~ the assessor's duly authorized agents. the Commissioner 
of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry and the commissioner's deputies, agents or 
employees have authority to enter any place of business of any processor or shipper or 
any car, boat, truck or other conveyance in which wild blueberries are to be or are being 
transported, including on a public way, and to inspect any books or records of any 
processor or shipper, or any premises where wild blueberries are stored, handled, 
transported or merchandised, for the purpose of determining what wild blueberries are 
taxable under this chapter or for the purpose of determining the truth or falsity of any 
statement or return made by any processor or shipper, and the State Tax Assessor may 
delegate that pov,rsr to the. The Commissioner of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, 
or the commissioner's deputies, agents or employees, shall conduct periodic random 
inspections of processors and shippers under this section and section 4316. subsection 4. 
Sec. 4. 36 MRSA §4316, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2007, c. 694, §10, is further 
amended to read: 
1. Record keeping required. A shipper or processor who transports or receives 
wild blueberries shall keep a permanent record of each lot or load of wild blueberries. 
The record must include the name of the driver of the vehicle used to deliver the wild 
blueberries, the date of delivery, the delivery point, a copy of the transpotiation permit, 
the driver's license number and~ the total pounds of wild blueberries delivered, the origin 
of the delivery and. if the origin is a location in the State. the name and address of the 
grower or seller and the grower's or seller's certificate number if the grower or seller is 
certified under section 4305. 
Sec. 5. 36 MRSA §4316, sub-§2-A is enacted to read: 
2-A. Tracking. Wild blueberries must be uniquely identified during transportation 
to a receiving facility by the field from which they were harvested. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to H.P. 1084, L.D. 1482 
Sec. 6. 36 MRSA §4316, sub-§4, as amended by PL 2007, c. 694, § 10 and PL 
2011, c. 657, Pt. W, §5, is further amended to read: 
4. Audits. The Wild Blueberry Commission of Maine may request the Department 
of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry to conduct aad#s, and the department at its 
own discretion may conduct, an audit of the records of shippers a shipper or processors g 
processor for the purpose of ascertaining compliance with this section. 
The 
commission.er Commissioner of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, or a duly 
authorized agent, has free access, during normal business hours, to all records required to 
be kept by shippers or processors pursuant to this section and also to shippers' or 
processors' accounts payable, accounts receivable, records of inventories, actual 
inventories, records of shipments and such other business records as are needed to 
ascertain compliance with this section. 
Any documents inspected or taken by the 
department in furtherance of the audit functions or any other information collected by the 
department pursuant to the audit must be kept confidential notwithstanding any provision 
to the contrary contained in Title 1, chapter 13, subchapter 1. This confidential status 
does not apply to any documents, records or information that is needed as evidence in any 
civil or criminal proceeding to enforce any law under this chapter or any other criminal 
law. 
Sec. 7. Effective date. This Act takes effect January 1, 2020.' 
Amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or 
section number to read consecutively. 
SUMMARY 
This amendment strikes and replaces the bill to remove the establishment of a tax of 
3/4¢ per pound for wild blueberries shipped from outside the State for processing in the 
State. The amendment requires all wild blueberries harvested in the State that are to be 
shipped outside the State for processing to be weighed on a state-certified scale in the 
State prior to being shipped outside the State. 
The amendment strikes detailed reporting, for processors, of wild blueberry 
transactions subject to the tax. 
The bill requires the State Tax Assessor to forward an annual report containing 
information pertinent to the collection of the blueberry tax to the Wild Blueberry 
Commission of Maine. The amendment specifies that the report must include the total 
number of pounds of: wild blueben'ies grown in the State, wild blueberries processed in 
the State, unprocessed wild blueberries imported into the State and unprocessed wild 
blueberries exported from the State. 
The bill requires the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry to 
conduct periodic random inspections of wild blueberry shippers and processors. The 
amendment s1l'ikes the requirement that each shipper and processor be inspected at least 
once in a 3-year period. 
The amendment strikes the requirement that the Wild Blueberry Commission of 
Maine maintain and periodically update a detailed survey of the wild blueberry industry 
acreage and assets and other industry data. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT ·fl "to H.P. 1084, L.D. 1482 
The amendment strikes the requirement that the Wild Blueberry Commission of 
Maine submit an itemized report of its yearly revenue and expenditures to the 
Commissioner of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry and the joint standing 
committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over agriculture matters. 
The amendment removes the repeal of the cunent law that provides an exception for 
wild blueberries harvested outside the State to the prohibition on the transport of wild 
bluebenies in quantities exceeding 25 pounds without first obtaining a transportation 
permit from the Wild Bluebeny Commission of Maine. 
The amendment removes the provision in the bill that changes the penalty for a 2nd 
violation of the record-keeping requirements within a 5-year period from up to $10,000 to 
$10,000. 
The amendment removes from the bill the prohibition on mixing or commingling of 
wild blueberries harvested from a field with wild blueberries from another field and the 
requirement that each field from which bluebenies are harvested have a unique 
identifying number and for shippers and processors to record for each lot of wild 
bluebenies the unique identifying number of that lot. Instead, the amendment provides 
that wild bluebenies must be uniquely identified by the field from which they were 
harvested during transportation to a receiving facility. 
The amendment provides an effective date for this legislation of January 1, 2020. 
FISCAL ~OTE REQUIRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
Revised: 05/21/19 frac 
LD 1482 
LR 1121(02) 
An Act To Clarify Provisions of the Blueberry Tax 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment /J• ( JI-J Y0 
Committee: Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
Minor cost increase - General Fund 
This bill makes changes to the reporting requirements associated with the wild Maine bluebeny tax. Any additional 
costs to the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forest1y or the Wild Blueberry Commission of Maine 
(WBC) associated with the revised reporting requirements are anticipated to be minor and can be absorbed within 
additional resources. Additional costs to the Department of Administrative and Financial Services associated with 
compiling and rep01iing the required infonnation to the WBC can be absorbed within existing budgeted resources. 
LRl 121(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1