Sec. 1. 28-A MRSA §453, sub-§1, ķA, as amended by PL 1997, c. 373, §46, is further amended to read:

A. The proposed agency liquor store is located in a municipality or unincorporated place that has voted in favor of the operation of state liquor stores under local option provisions. Licenses in an unincorporated place, where no local option vote is taken under chapter 5, must be approved by the county commissioners of the county.

Sec. 2. 28-A MRSA §453, sub-§1-A is enacted to read:

1-A.__Qualifications.__The bureau may not issue any license for a new agency liquor store unless:

A.__The premises have been in operation for at least 3 months immediately before the date of the application; or

B.__The applicant proves to the satisfaction of the bureau that all applicable standards and requirements of laws and rules of the bureau have been met and that the applicant is a resident of the State.

Sec. 3. 28-A MRSA §453, sub-§2-A, as repealed and replaced by PL 2003, c. 20, Pt. SS, §1 and affected by §8, is repealed.

SUMMARY

This bill removes the current restriction on the number of agency liquor store licenses that may be issued in a municipality based on the population of that municipality. Instead, this bill makes licensing for agency liquor stores contingent upon their meeting requirements similar to those imposed on off-premise retail licensees of malt liquor and wine.