Alcohol laws of Maine

Location of Maine

Alcohol laws of Maine regulate the sale and possession of alcohol in the state of Maine in the United States. Maine is an alcoholic beverage control state.

The serving of alcohol in the State of Maine is supervised by the State Liquor and Lottery Commission. The Commission consists of five members appointed by the Governor of Maine and confirmed by the Maine Legislature. They meet monthly to provide public oversight and review of the performance and operational activities of the Maine Bureau of Alcoholic Beverages and Lottery Operations (BABLO).^[1]

BABLO is responsible for regulating the business practices of the alcohol industry, creating a favorable economic climate for the industry, and prohibiting sales to minors. They also lease the State monopoly on the warehousing and distribution of distilled spirits and fortified wines; the lease was held by the Maine Beverage Company, which signed a 10-year lease in 2004.^[2] A new 10-year lease was awarded to Maine Beverage Company's subcontractor, Pine State Trading Co, to take effect on July 1, 2014. It is expected that the new lease, which was designed to generate money to pay debt owed to Maine hospitals, will allow prices to be reduced on popular spirits in an attempt to prevent the loss of sales to New Hampshire, which has lower prices and no sales tax.^[3]

The Maine Department of Public Safety, through the Maine State Police's Liquor and Licensing Division, is responsible for licensing the manufacture, importation, storage, transportation and sale of all liquor. They also administer those laws relating to licensing and the collection of taxes on malt liquor and wine.^[4]

Title 28-A of the Maine Revised Statutes contains the laws and rules regulating liquor.^[5]

Sales restrictions

Time and practices

Alcohol may be sold between the hours of 5am and 1am each day of the week. On New Year's Day, alcohol may be sold until 2 a.m.

Liquor may be consumed in establishments licensed for on-premises consumption until 1:15 a.m., with the exception of New Year's Day when it is 2:15 a.m.^[6] If St. Patrick's Day falls on a Sunday, sales in bars and restaurants may occur starting at 6 a.m.^[7]

It is illegal to distribute alcoholic beverages for free, as well as serving a customer more than two beverages at a time. Practices designed to get customers to drink more, such as drinking games, are prohibited, as is the awarding of drinks as prizes.^[8]

Place

Sales of Alcohol were once only permitted from state-owned stores, but the laws establishing the stores were repealed in 1991 and the stores gradually closed.^[9] Privately owned stores now obtain licenses to operate as "Agency Liquor Stores".^[10] Establishments selling liquor may not be within 300 feet of an existing school or church ^[11] unless a public hearing is held near the proposed location of the establishment, or the establishment is in a downtown area.^[12]

Liquor may be sold from mobile carts on golf courses.^[13]

The Governor of Maine or BABLO may order liquor stores closed in the event of riots, flooding, or a hurricane.^[14]

Advertising

Maine law changed in 2014 to allow bars to display the alcohol content of their beverages. Previously, bars were not permitted to display the alcohol content (though they could state it verbally) or to use certain phrases such as "high test" or "high proof" in a display.^[15] The original reasoning behind the law, passed post-Prohibition in 1937, was that if bars displayed the strength of their liquor, consumers would drink more of it. Modern establishments, however, stated that giving consumers such information helps them to better control their alcohol consumption.^[16] After bars pressured the Legislature in February 2014 to attempt to repeal the law, Director Reid of BABLO rewrote enforcement policy to state that merely listing the alcohol content would not be punished, though it still will be if the listing is embellished with descriptive language.^[17] The law was repealed on April 8, 2014 without Governor Paul LePage's signature, thus allowing bars and restaurants to list the alcohol content of their beverages on menus and signs. ^[18]

Advertisements for liquor in media must be approved by BABLO, and it is prohibited to use an image of the Maine State House in liquor advertising.^[19]

Drinking age

The legal age to purchase and consume alcohol in Maine is 21, which was instituted in 1987.^[20] Minors may consume alcohol at home in the presence of the minor's parents.^[21] Minors may not transport liquor unless required due to the minor's employment, or at the request of their parent, guardian, or custodian.^[22]

Taxes

Taxes on liquor at store level are included within the price and calculated by BABLO in order to raise enough money to cover their expenses and generate money for the State General Fund at an amount at least equal to that of the previous year.^[23]

In addition, per-gallon excise taxes are also levied on the manufacture and sale of liquor. The amount varies depending on the type of liquor.^[24]

Local laws

Municipalities in Maine may, by local referendum, prohibit the sale of alcohol within the municipality, and have been able to since the end of Prohibition in 1933. They may do so for both or either on and off-premises consumption.^[25] The most recent town to change its liquor laws was Sedgwick which voted to allow the sale of alcohol for on-premises consumption at its March 13, 2013 town meeting. In 2012, Cushing voted to allow the sale of alcohol. According to the State Police, there are still 56 dry towns in Maine.^[26]

Driving

The legal limit for drunk driving in Maine is .08%. Teenage drivers may have no alcohol in their system. Maine also has an implied consent law, interpreting the refusal to submit to a breathalyzer test at the request of a police officer as failing such a test.^[27]

Drinking alcohol in a motor vehicle is prohibited. Open containers of alcohol are generally prohibited. One exception is in vehicles without trunks if the container is placed in an area not normally occupied by the driver or passenger, or behind the last upright seat in the vehicle. They are also permitted for passengers in vehicles for hire (except taxicabs), the living quarters of a mobile home, trailer, semitrailer, or truck camper, and in vehicles operated by a licensed caterer who is transporting the alcohol to or from an event.^[28]

Other

Persons under the influence of alcohol may not possess firearms in bars and restaurants. Such establishments also may, but are not required to, prohibit firearms from all customers in their establishment.^[29]

Liquor and public intoxication are not permitted in Maine state parks.^[30] Public intoxication and in some cases consumption are also not permitted in Acadia National Park per federal law. ^[31]

See also

• Maine law (or "Maine Liquor Law"), passed in 1851 in Maine
• Maine Liquor Licensing and Compliance Division

References