Title 7, Title 7

This Act shall be known as the "Maine Plant and Soil Amendment Act."

As used in this subchapter, unless the context indicates otherwise, the following terms shall have the following meanings. [PL 1979, c. 491, §1 (NEW).] 1. Brand name. "Brand name" means the term, designation, trademark, product name or other specific designation under which indiv…

The following information shall appear on the face or display side of the container of any plant amendment or soil amendment offered for sale. It shall be in a readable and conspicuous form and shall be considered the label. If distributed in bulk, a written or printed statement …

Each separately identified plant or soil amendment product must be registered by the distributor before being distributed in this State. The application for registration must be submitted to the commissioner on the form approved by the commissioner and must be accompanied by a fe…

Every person who distributes a plant or soil amendment shall file with the commissioner on or before September 1st in each year, on forms supplied by him, the number of tons of each plant or soil amendment sold in the State during the 12 months preceding July 1st of the current y…

The commissioner shall sample, inspect, analyze and test plant and soil amendment distributed within the State as the commissioner considers necessary to determine whether the plant or soil amendments are in compliance with this subchapter. The commissioner may enter upon any pub…

If the analyses or tests show that any plant or soil amendments are misbranded or adulterated, disposition of the amendment shall be in accordance with rules. [PL 1979, c. 491, §1 (NEW).] The commissioner may adopt rules establishing tolerable deficiencies for guaranteed analyses…

No person shall distribute a misbranded plant or soil amendment. A plant or soil amendment shall be deemed to be misbranded if: [PL 1979, c. 491, §1 (NEW).] 1. False labeling. Its labeling is false or misleading in any particular; 2. Not labeled. If it is not labeled as required …

The commissioner may issue and enforce a written order to the owner or custodian of any plant or soil amendment to stop sale, use or removal, when the commissioner finds the plant or soil amendment is being offered for sale in violation of any of the provisions of this subchapter…

Any person who violates any provision of this subchapter commits a civil violation for which a fine of not less than $200 must be adjudged. This subchapter may not be construed to require the commissioner to sue or to issue an order as a result of minor violations of this subchap…

The commissioner is authorized pursuant to the Maine Administrative Procedure Act, Title 5, chapter 375, to adopt and enforce such rules as may be necessary for this subchapter.

No person shall distribute an adulterated plant or soil amendment. A plant or soil amendment shall be deemed to be adulterated if: [PL 1979, c. 491, §1 (NEW).] 1. Deleterious or harmful agent. It contains any deleterious or harmful agent in sufficient amount to render it injuriou…

Consistent with the Maine Administrative Procedure Act, the commissioner may refuse registration of any brand of plant or soil amendment if the commissioner finds the brand of plant or soil amendment violates this subchapter, and may investigate whether the registration of any pl…

Maple products packed in any type or kind of container, and found in any place in the State of Maine, whether that place shall be a warehouse, packing house or any place where maple products are stored, shall be deemed to be exposed for sale under sections 891 to 898.

1. Definitions. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms have the following meanings. A. "Brix" means the scale used to measure the specific gravity of maple syrup. [PL 1991, c. 326, §2 (NEW).] B. "Damage" means any defect that affects …

All containers of maple syrup sold or offered for sale for human consumption by any person, partnership, association, firm or corporation shall be labeled with the grade, the volume, name and address of the producer or packer, together with the producer's or packer's seal in such…

Any person, partnership, association, firm or corporation shall not sell or offer for sale in any place, or serve in any hotel, restaurant or other public eating place any maple sugar, maple confection or candy or maple syrup or any product labeled or represented as such that is …

Any person, partnership, association, firm or corporation, when quoting the price, shall include the grade on all flyers, newspapers, radio and television advertisements.

Any producer selling to another producer or packer is exempt, except if containers are labeled with a grade, the contents of that container shall meet the grade marked on that container.

The commissioner shall diligently enforce all of the provisions of sections 891 to 898. The commissioner, either in person or by a duly authorized representative, has free access, ingress and egress to any place or building, store, gift shop or any building wherein maple or maple…

Any person, firm or corporation who shall violate any of the provisions of sections 891 to 898 or neglect or refuse to comply with any of the provisions required in those sections or in any way violates any of those provisions commits a civil violation for which the following for…

For purposes of this subchapter, any birch syrup products governed by this subchapter that are packed in any type or kind of container and found in any place in the State, whether a warehouse, packing house or place where birch syrup products are stored, are deemed to be exposed …

All containers of birch syrup sold or offered for sale for human consumption must be labeled with the volume, name and address of the producer or packer, together with the producer's or packer's seal in a manner approved by the commissioner on the cap of the container, which must…

A person may not sell or offer for sale in any place or serve in any hotel, restaurant or other public eating place any birch sugar, birch confection or candy or birch syrup or any product labeled or represented as such that is in any way combined, interfused or diluted with cane…

The commissioner shall enforce this subchapter. The commissioner or the commissioner's designee must have free access to any place or building, store, gift shop or any other building where birch syrup or birch syrup products are packed, stored, transported, sold or offered or exp…

A person who violates any of the provisions of this subchapter commits a civil violation for which the following fines may be adjudged: [PL 2021, c. 43, §1 (NEW).] 1. First violation. For the first violation, a fine not to exceed $100; and 2. Subsequent violations. For each subse…

1. Exposed for sale. Potatoes packed in any type or kind of container, and found in any place in the State of Maine, whether that place shall be a depot, station, warehouse, packing house, boat dock or any place where potatoes are held in storage, or loaded on a boat, truck, trai…

The Commissioner of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry is authorized and empowered, after holding public hearings in a manner consistent with the Maine Administrative Procedure Act, to establish and promulgate official definitions and standards for grading, or classifying, pa…

A person may not plant seed potatoes in the State, the product of which is intended for sale, in lots of one or more acres unless that seed is certified in accordance with rules adopted by the commissioner. These rules may include without limitation requirements for filing report…

To achieve compliance with official standards, the commissioner may adopt, consistent with this Article and with section 402, a fee schedule for inspection of potatoes. The potato inspection fee schedule may provide for a lower inspection rate for any person who is packing potato…

It is unlawful for any person, firm, association, organization or corporation, or agent, representative or assistant to any person, firm, association, organization or corporation to expose for sale, or sell, at wholesale or retail, to ship, deliver or consign or have in possessio…

Notwithstanding section 952, it shall be unlawful for any person, firm, association, organization or corporation to expose for sale or sell at full sale or retail, to ship, deliver or consign, or have in possession potatoes prepared for market in containers which bear any stateme…

No provisions of sections 951 to 957 shall be construed to prevent a grower or shipper of potatoes from selling or delivering the same within the State unpacked, or selling his crop in bulk, or any part thereof, to a packer for grading, packing or storage within the State; nor sh…

Whenever the commissioner or his duly authorized representative shall find from inspection, as authorized in section 956, that potatoes are being sold, exposed for sale, or shipped for sale in containers, and the containers bear any statements, design or device regarding such pot…

Certified seed potatoes as defined by chapter 401 are exempted from sections 951 to 957, except as may otherwise be promulgated by the commissioner.

The commissioner shall diligently enforce all of the provisions of sections 951 to 957. The commissioner, either in person or by a duly authorized representative, has free access, ingress and egress to any place or field or any building, boat, truck, trailer, railroad car, wareho…

Any person, firm or corporation who violates any of the provisions of sections 952 to 957 or to Article 4 or neglects or refuses to comply with any of the provisions required therein or in any way violates any of those provisions shall be subject to warning and to civil penalties…

In enforcing this Article, the commissioner or any other duly authorized representative shall be considered law enforcement officers only for purposes of service of process consistent with Title 17-A, section 17, subsection 1.

As used in this article, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms have the following meanings. [PL 2013, c. 403, §2 (NEW).] 1. Board. "Board" means the Maine Potato Board established in Title 36, section 4603. 2. Committee. 3. Fund. "Fund" means the Potato Mark…

The board shall administer the fund.

1. State loans. State loans are subject to the following conditions. A. No state loan for any project under this article, the total cost of which exceeds $150,000, may exceed 45% of the project cost and no state loan may be provided for such a project unless the applicant demonst…

All or any portion of the interest earned or accruing on the cash balance of the Potato Marketing Improvement Fund may be used for grants to partially or fully fund research projects to study and assess technical problems experienced with new and retrofitted storage facilities an…

The board shall maintain or arrange for the maintenance of an office in Aroostook County located in a town most convenient to the largest number of potential users of the fund. This office must be staffed by one or more business development specialists primarily responsible for w…

There is established a Potato Marketing Improvement Fund Operating Account. This account draws funds from the fund on a periodic basis to be determined by the board to cover the costs of administering the fund and any grants made.

Sections 991 to 994 may be known and cited as the "Maine Potato Marketing Act."

The purposes of sections 991 to 994 are: [RR 1999, c. 2, §8 (COR).] 1. Correlate marketing. To enable potato producers of this State, with the aid of the State, more effectively to correlate the marketing of their potatoes with market demands therefor; 2. Uniform grading. To prov…