An Act To Provide Equal Access to the Benefits of the Maine Food Sovereignty Act
Maine Legislature, Session 130, LD 0954
Committee: Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry
Sponsors: KEIM, PLUECKER, MAXMIN, FAULKINGHAM, O'NEIL
Amends: 7 MRSA §284, 7 MRSA §286, 30-A MRSA §7051, 30-A MRSA §7505

Legislative Document
No. 954
S.P. 306
In Senate, March 9, 2021
An Act To Provide Equal Access to the Benefits of the Maine Food 
Sovereignty Act
Reference to the Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry suggested and 
ordered printed.
DAREK M. GRANT
Secretary of the Senate
Presented by Senator KEIM of Oxford.
Cosponsored by Representative PLUECKER of Warren and
Senator: MAXMIN of Lincoln, Representatives: FAULKINGHAM of Winter Harbor, O'NEIL 
of Saco.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  7 MRSA §284, as enacted by PL 2017, c. 314, §1, is amended to read:
§284.  Home rule authority Authority
Pursuant to the home rule authority granted to municipalities by Title 30‑A, section 
3001 and by the Constitution of Maine, Article VIII, Part Second, and notwithstanding any 
provision of state food law to the contrary, except as contained in section 285, a 
municipality, plantation or unorganized territory may adopt ordinances regarding direct 
producer-to-consumer transactions and the State shall recognize such ordinances by not 
enforcing those state food laws with respect to those direct producer-to-consumer 
transactions that are governed by the ordinance.
Pursuant to Title 30-A, section 7501, subsection 6 and by the Constitution of Maine, 
Article VIII, Part Second, and notwithstanding any provision of state food law to the 
contrary, a county shall provide the direct producer-to-consumer provisions of this chapter 
for residents of the unorganized territories.
Sec. 2.  7 MRSA §286, as enacted by PL 2017, c. 314, §1, is amended to read:
§286.  Compliance with food safety regulations
An individual who grows, produces, processes or prepares food or food products for 
purposes other than direct producer-to-consumer transactions in a municipality, plantation 
or unorganized territory that adopts or amends an ordinance pursuant to section 284 shall 
grow, produce, process or prepare the food or food products in compliance with all 
applicable state and federal food safety laws, rules and regulations.
Sec. 3.  30-A MRSA §7051, sub-§11, as amended by PL 2019, c. 138, §1, is further 
amended to read:
11.  Ordinances.  Chapter 141, but only with respect to animal control ordinances, 
subject to Title 7, section 3950, the sale and use of consumer fireworks within the 
plantation, subject to Title 8, section 223‑A, and the accumulation of garbage, refuse, 
rubbish or trash or unwanted or discarded material of any kind or source on private property 
and ordinances regarding direct producer-to-consumer transactions adopted pursuant to 
Title 7, section 284.
Sec. 4.  30-A MRSA §7505 is enacted to read:
§7505.  Maine Food Sovereignty Act
The county commissioners of each county shall provide or contract for the provision 
of municipal services to carry out the provisions of Title 7, chapter 8-F.
SUMMARY
This bill includes plantations and unorganized territories under the municipal home 
rule authority and compliance provisions of the Maine Food Sovereignty Act. This bill also 
authorizes plantations to enact ordinances under the Maine Food Sovereignty Act and 
directs counties to provide for the unorganized territories the services under the Act that 
municipalities provide.