CHAPTER 213
H.P. 358 - L.D. 466
An Act Concerning the Issuance of a Temporary Liquor License
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 28-A MRSA §653, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2001, c. 500, §1, is further amended to read:
1. Hearings. The municipal officers or, in the case of unincorporated places, the county commissioners of the county in which the unincorporated place is located, shall may hold a public hearing for the consideration of applications for new on-premise on-premises licenses and applications for transfer of location of existing on-premise on-premises licenses. The municipal officers or county commissioners may hold a public hearing for the consideration of requests for renewal of licenses, except that when an applicant has held a license for the prior 5 years and a complaint has not been filed against the applicant within that time, the applicant may request a waiver of the hearing.
A. The bureau shall prepare and supply application forms.
B. The municipal officers or the county commissioners, as the case may be, shall provide public notice of any hearing held under this section by causing a notice, at the applicant's prepaid expense, stating the name and place of hearing, to appear on at least 3 consecutive days before the date of hearing in a daily newspaper having general circulation in the municipality where the premises are located or one week before the date of the hearing in a weekly newspaper having general circulation in the municipality where the premises are located.
C. If the municipal officers or the county commissioners, as the case may be, fail to take final action on an application for a new on-premise on-premises license, for or transfer of the location of an existing on-premise on-premises license within 60 days of the filing of an application, the application is deemed approved and ready for action by the bureau. For purposes of this paragraph, the date of filing of the application is the date the application is received by the municipal officers or county commissioners. This paragraph applies to all applications pending before municipal officers or county commissioners as of the effective date of this paragraph as well as all applications filed on or after the effective date of this paragraph. This paragraph applies to an existing on-premise on-premises license that has been extended pending renewal. The municipal officers or the county commissioners shall take final action on an on-premise on-premises license that has been extended pending renewal within 120 days of the filing of the application.
D. If an application is approved by the municipal officers or the county commissioners but the bureau finds, after inspection of the premises and the records of the applicant, that the applicant does not qualify for the class of license applied for, the bureau shall notify the applicant of that fact in writing. The bureau shall give the applicant 30 days to file an amended application for the appropriate class of license, accompanied by any additional license fee, with the municipal officers or county commissioners, as the case may be. If the applicant fails to file an amended application within 30 days, the original application must be denied by the bureau. The bureau shall notify the applicant in writing of its decision to deny the application including the reasons for the denial and the rights of appeal of the applicant.
Sec. 2. 28-A MRSA §1051, sub-§2-A is enacted to read:
2-A. Temporary license upon transfer of ownership. An applicant applying for a new license, in accordance with subsection 2, resulting from the transfer of ownership of an existing on-premises license may simultaneously apply to the bureau for a temporary on-premises license. The bureau may issue a temporary license upon application unless the municipal officers or county commissioners notify the bureau of their objection to the issuance of the license. A temporary license issued in accordance with this subsection is valid from the date it is issued until a decision is made on the application for an annual on-premises license or for 60 days, whichever is shorter. The fee for a temporary license issued under this subsection is $100.
Effective September 13, 2003, unless otherwise indicated.
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