Sec. T-1. 3 MRSA §959, sub-§1, ¶D, as amended by PL 2001, c. 439, Pt. EEEE, §1, is further amended to read:
D. The joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over criminal justice matters shall use the following list as a guideline for scheduling reviews:
(1) Department of Public Safety, except for the Bureau of Liquor Enforcement division designated by the Commissioner of Public Safety to enforce the law relating to the manufacture, importation, storage, transportation and sale of all liquor and to administer those laws relating to licensing and the collection of taxes on malt liquor and wine and the Emergency Services Communication Bureau, in 2001; and
(2) Department of Corrections in 2003.
Sec. T-2. 3 MRSA §959, sub-§1, ¶J, as amended by PL 1999, c. 127, Pt. C, §11, is further amended to read:
J. The joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over legal and veterans' affairs shall use the following schedule as a guideline for scheduling reviews:
(2) State Liquor and Lottery Commission in 1999;
(3) Bureau of Liquor Enforcement The division within the Department of Public Safety designated by the Commissioner of Public Safety to enforce the law relating to the manufacture, importation, storage, transportation and sale of all liquor and to administer those laws relating to licensing and the collection of taxes on malt liquor and wine in 1999; and
(4) Department of Defense, Veterans and Emergency Management in 2001.
Sec. T-3. 5 MRSA §10051, sub-§3, as amended by PL 1999, c. 547, Pt. B, §19 and affected by §80, is further amended to read:
3. Appellate jurisdiction. The District Court has exclusive jurisdiction to review disciplinary decisions of occupational licensing boards and commissions taken pursuant to Title 10, section 8003 and licensing decisions of the Bureau of Liquor Enforcement Department of Public Safety taken pursuant to Title 28-A, sections 453-A, 458 and 653. Chapter 375, subchapter VII 7 governs these proceedings as far as applicable, substituting "District Court" for "Superior Court."
Sec. T-4. 25 MRSA §2901, as amended by PL 1999, c. 668, §114, is further amended to read:
§2901. Department; commissioner
There is created and established the Department of Public Safety to coordinate and efficiently manage the law enforcement and public safety responsibilities of the State, to consist of the Commissioner of Public Safety, in this chapter called "commissioner," who is appointed by the Governor, subject to review by the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over criminal justice matters and to confirmation by the Legislature, to serve at the pleasure of the Governor, and the following: the Bureau of State Police, the Bureau of Liquor Enforcement, the Office of the State Fire Marshal, the Maine Criminal Justice Academy, the Bureau of Highway Safety and the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency.
Sec. T-5. 25 MRSA §2902, sub-§3, as amended by PL 2001, c. 559, Pt. KK, §4, is repealed.
Sec. T-6. 25 MRSA Pt. 10, as amended, is repealed.
Sec. T-7. 28-A MRSA §2, sub-§6, as amended by PL 1993, c. 730, §4, is further amended to read:
6. Bureau. "Bureau" means the Bureau of Liquor Enforcement, which includes the Liquor Licensing and Tax Division, division within the Department of Public Safety designated by the commissioner to enforce the law relating to the manufacture, importation, storage, transportation and sale of all liquor and to administer those laws relating to licensing and collection of taxes on malt liquor and wine.
Sec. T-8. 28-A MRSA §2, sub-§8-A, as amended by PL 1997, c. 373, §12, is repealed.
Sec. T-9. 28-A MRSA §82, sub-§5, as amended by PL 1997, c. 571, §1, is further amended to read:
5. Appeals. Review all appeals from the decisions of municipal officers. The chief commissioner may conduct appeal hearings or appoint a hearings officer to conduct appeal hearings. Except as provided in section 805, the decision of the chief commissioner is final.
The chief commissioner or the hearings officer may conduct hearings in any licensing matter pending before the bureau. If a hearings officer conducts the hearing, the hearings officer, after holding the hearing, shall file with the bureau all papers connected with the case and report the findings to the chief commissioner. The chief commissioner shall render a final decision based upon the record of the hearing.
The chief commissioner or the hearings officer may administer oaths and issue subpoenas for witnesses and subpoenas duces tecum to compel the production of books and papers relating to any license question in dispute before the bureau or to any matter involved in a hearing. Witness fees in all proceedings are the same as for witnesses before the Superior Court and must be paid by the bureau, except that, notwithstanding Title 16, section 253, the bureau is not required to pay the fees before the travel and attendance occur;
Sec. T-10. 28-A MRSA §161, sub-§7, as enacted by PL 1987, c. 45, Pt. A, §4, is amended to read:
7. Right of access. Every bottle club shall allow liquor enforcement officers and other law enforcement officers to enter the premises at reasonable times for the purpose of investigating compliance with this Title.
A. Entry into the premises under this subsection must be conducted in a reasonable manner so as not to disrupt the operation of the bottle club.
B. The investigation must be limited to those areas involved in the actual operation of the bottle club, including storage areas.
Sec. T-11. 28-A MRSA §714, sub-§3, ¶¶A and B, as amended by PL 1993, c. 730, §35, are further amended to read:
A. Every keg of malt liquor offered for sale by an off-premise off-premises retail licensee must be tagged in a manner and with a label approved by the chief commissioner identifying the keg. The tag must be supplied for each keg, without fee, by the wholesaler or small brewer of the keg.
B. The retail seller of the keg shall complete a form designed and approved by the chief commissioner and affix the label to each keg supplied to the retail seller by the distributor of the keg. The form must be printed and distributed, without fee, by the wholesaler or small brewer of the keg. The form must include the name, address and date of birth of the purchaser and the identification number of the keg. The form must summarize the requirements of this section, the penalties for violating any provision of this section and the penalties for providing alcohol to a minor. The seller shall retain the form as a record subject to chapter 31.
Sec. T-12. 28-A MRSA §803, sub-§1, as amended by PL 1997, c. 373, §76 and 1999, c. 547, Pt. B, §78 and affected by §80, is further amended to read:
1. Violation of law or rule. Upon discovering a violation of federal or state law, rule or regulation relating to liquor, or an infraction of a rule adopted by the bureau, the chief commissioner, or the chief's commissioner's designee, shall:
A. Report the violation to the District Court Judge in a signed complaint; or
B. Issue warnings to the licensees involved.
Sec. T-13. 28-A MRSA §803, sub-§6, as amended by PL 1997, c. 373, §79 and 1999, c. 547, Pt. B, §78 and affected by §80, is further amended to read:
6. Warnings. Upon the written recommendation of the chief commissioner, or the chief's commissioner's designee, the District Court Judge, instead of notifying a licensee against whom a complaint is pending to appear for hearing, may send the licensee a warning. Warnings must be sent by registered or certified mail and contain a copy of the complaint. A licensee to whom a warning is sent may demand a hearing by notifying the District Court Judge by registered or certified mail within 10 days from the date the warning was mailed.
Sec. T-14. 29-A MRSA §2054, sub-§1, ¶B, as amended by PL 2001, c. 360, §5, is further amended to read:
B. "Authorized emergency vehicle" means any one of the following vehicles:
(1) An ambulance;
(2) A Baxter State Park Authority vehicle operated by a Baxter State Park ranger;
(3) A Bureau of Marine Patrol vehicle operated by a coastal warden;
(4) A Department of Conservation vehicle operated by a forest ranger;
(5) A Department of Conservation vehicle used for forest fire control;
(6) A Department of Corrections vehicle used for responding to the escape of or performing the high-security transfer of a prisoner, juvenile client or juvenile detainee;
(7) A Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife vehicle operated by a warden;
(8) A Department of Public Safety vehicle operated by a liquor enforcement officer, a capital security officer appointed pursuant to Title 25, section 2908, a state fire investigator or a Maine Drug Enforcement Agency officer;
(9) An emergency medical service vehicle;
(10) A fire department vehicle;
(11) A hazardous material response vehicle, including a vehicle designed to respond to a weapon of mass destruction;
(12) A railroad police vehicle;
(13) A sheriff's department vehicle;
(14) A State Police or municipal police department vehicle;
(15) A vehicle operated by a chief of police, a sheriff or a deputy sheriff when authorized by the sheriff;
(16) A vehicle operated by a municipal fire inspector, a municipal fire chief, an assistant or deputy chief or a town forest fire warden;
(17) A vehicle operated by a qualified deputy sheriff or other qualified individual to perform court security-related functions and services as authorized by the State Court Administrator pursuant to Title 4, section 17, subsection 15; or
(18) A Federal Government vehicle operated by a federal law enforcement officer.
Sec. T-15. 36 MRSA §172, sub-§1, as amended by PL 1997, c. 373, §171, is further amended to read:
1. Liquor licensee. If the taxpayer is a liquor licensee, to the Department of Public Safety, Bureau of Liquor Enforcement, which shall construe that liability and lack of cooperation to be a ground for denying, suspending or revoking the taxpayer's liquor license in accordance with Title 28-A, section 707 and chapter 33; or
Sec. T-16. Transition provisions.
1. All references in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 28-A to the functions performed by the Chief of the Bureau of Liquor Enforcement within the Department of Public Safety are deemed to refer to functions of the Commissioner of Public Safety, and all references to functions performed by the Bureau of Liquor Enforcement are deemed to refer to functions of the division within the Department of Public Safety designated by the commissioner to enforce the law relating to the manufacture, importation, storage, transportation and sale of all liquor and to administer those laws relating to licensing and the collection of taxes on malt liquor and wine. It is the express intent of the Legislature that all provisions of Title 28-A remain fully enforceable and, in order to effectuate this intent, the Commissioner of Public Safety or officials designated by the commissioner may enforce any provision of Title 28-A.
2. All existing rules and procedures in effect, in operation or adopted by the Bureau of Liquor Enforcement or the Chief of the Bureau of Liquor Enforcement remain in effect and continue in effect until rescinded, revised or amended by the proper authority.
3. All existing forms, licenses, letterheads and similar items bearing the name of or referring to the Bureau of Liquor Enforcement may be utilized by the division designated by the Commissioner of Public Safety pursuant to this section until existing supplies of those items are exhausted.
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