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An Act To Require the Bureau of Alcoholic Beverages and Lottery Operations To Provide Annual Reports on Spirits Sales Revenues and Expenditures To Promote Lottery Sales
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 8 MRSA §372, sub-§2, ¶I, as amended by PL 2003, c. 673, Pt. MM, §1, is further amended to read:
 
I. Carry on a continuous study and investigation of the lotteries throughout the State and the operation and administration of similar laws that may be in effect in other jurisdictions. The director, subject to the prior approval of the commission, may enter into a written agreement with a multijurisdictional lottery association for the operation, marketing and promotion of a joint lottery or joint lottery games with other jurisdictions.
 
Any final agreement entered into with a multijurisdictional lottery association must provide that the director has the authority to terminate the agreement upon the provision of reasonable notice, not to exceed 6 months. The final agreement must further provide that the director may terminate the agreement at any time, without prior notice, in the event that the director's authority is withdrawn or limited by law; and
Sec. 2. 8 MRSA §372, sub-§2, ¶J, as enacted by PL 1991, c. 780, Pt. Y, §112, is amended to read:
 
J. Assign duties as necessary to a designee.; and
Sec. 3.  8 MRSA §372, sub-§2, ¶K  is enacted to read:
 
K.  Beginning January 15, 2017, report annually to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over lottery operations matters on expenditures approved by the director, made during the immediately preceding fiscal year, to promote lottery sales through marketing and advertising.
Sec. 4. 28-A MRSA §84, sub-§4, as enacted by PL 1997, c. 373, §28 and amended by PL 2013, c. 368, Pt. V, §61, is further amended to read:
 
4. Confer with commissioner.   Confer regularly as necessary or desirable and not less than once a month with the Commissioner of Administrative and Financial Services on the operation and administration of the bureau and make available for inspection by the Commissioner of Administrative and Financial Services, upon request, all books, records, files and other information and documents of the bureau; and
Sec. 5. 28-A MRSA §84, sub-§5, as amended by PL 2013, c. 588, Pt. B, §1, is further amended to read:
 
5. Certification.   Certify monthly to the Treasurer of State and the Commissioner of Administrative and Financial Services a complete statement of revenues and expenses for liquor sales for the preceding month and submit an annual report that includes a complete statement of the revenues and expenses for the bureau to the Governor and the Legislature, together with recommendations for changes in this Title.; and
Sec. 6.  28-A MRSA §84, sub-§6  is enacted to read:
 
6.  Report on spirits revenues and profits.     Beginning January 15, 2017, submit an annual report to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over alcoholic beverages matters on the immediately preceding fiscal year's gross revenues and operating profits from the sale of spirits in this State. The report must include the amount of payments or distributions required by law using revenues from the sale of spirits, including, but not limited to, the payment to the Liquor Operation Revenue Fund established under Title 30-A, section 6054.
 
SUMMARY
This bill is submitted by the Joint Standing Committee on Veterans and Legal Affairs pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 3, section 955 and in response to the report submitted by the State Liquor and Lottery Commission and the Department of Administrative and Financial Services, Bureau of Alcoholic Beverages and Lottery Operations as required by the State Government Evaluation Act under Title 3, section 959, subsection 1, paragraph J. The purpose of the bill is to ensure the committee has adequate information to facilitate its role of overseeing and monitoring the operation of the Maine State Lottery Commission and the State's spirits business.
The bill requires the Director of the Bureau of Alcoholic Beverages and Lottery Operations within the Department of Administrative and Financial Services to submit annual reports to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over alcoholic beverages and lottery operations matters. Beginning January 15, 2017, the director is required to submit a report of expenditures made to promote lottery sales through advertising and marketing and a report on the gross revenues and operating profits from the sale of spirits in the State.