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An Act To Require a Medical Marijuana Primary Caregiver Cultivating in a Residential Building To Obtain an Electrical Permit
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 22 MRSA §2423-A, sub-§3, ¶B, as amended by PL 2013, c. 501, §1, is further amended to read:
 
B. A primary caregiver who has been designated by a patient to cultivate marijuana for the patient's medical use must keep all plants in an enclosed, locked facility unless the plants are being transported because the primary caregiver is moving or taking the plants to the primary caregiver's own property in order to cultivate them. The primary caregiver shall use a numerical identification system to enable the primary caregiver to identify marijuana plants cultivated for a patient. Access to the cultivation facility is limited to the primary caregiver, except that an elected official invited by the primary caregiver for the purpose of providing education to the elected official on cultivation by the primary caregiver, emergency services personnel or a person who needs to gain access to the cultivation facility in order to perform repairs or maintenance or to do construction may access the cultivation facility to provide those professional services while under the direct supervision of the primary caregiver.
 
(1) After January 1, 2016, a primary caregiver may not cultivate marijuana in a residential building unless that caregiver has obtained from an electrical inspector approved by the department certification that any electrical system used in the cultivation is in compliance with applicable electrical codes and is adequate and safe for the amount of cultivation that is occurring in the residential building, considering the number of qualifying patients who have designated the primary caregiver to cultivate marijuana on their behalf. The department by rule shall establish standards for certification and for approval of an electrical inspector, who must be either the municipal electrical inspector who issues permits pursuant to Title 30-A, section 4173 for the municipality in which the residential building is located or a qualified electrician. The department shall approve the municipal electrical inspector of a municipality that agrees to participate in the required inspection and certification. Rules adopted under this subparagraph are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.
Sec. 2.  22 MRSA §2425, sub-§1-B  is enacted to read:
 
1-B.  Primary caregiver that cultivates marijuana.     After January 1, 2016, an applicant for a registry identification card who is a primary caregiver and who has been designated by a patient to cultivate marijuana for the patient's medical use and who will cultivate the marijuana in a residential building must submit to the department the electrical inspector certification required under section 2423-A, subsection 3, paragraph B.
 
SUMMARY
This bill amends the Maine Medical Use of Marijuana Act to require, beginning January 2, 2016, a primary caregiver to obtain an electrical permit from an electrical inspector prior to cultivating in a residential building.