An Act To Streamline the Issuance of State Business Licenses

Sec. 1. 5 MRSA §13062, sub-§2, ¶C  is enacted to read:

Sec. 2. Rules. The Director of the Office of Business Development within the Department of Economic and Community Development shall, no later than December 1, 2011, adopt rules governing the retail business portfolio license program established in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 5, section 13062, subsection 2, paragraph C. The rules must specify the application requirements for a portfolio license, establish timelines applicable to the office for the processing and issuance of portfolio licenses, establish the fees for a portfolio license, which may not exceed the combined cost of the individual licenses included in the portfolio license, and require the same renewal date for all individual licenses included in the portfolio license and a prorated license fee based on that renewal date. Rules adopted under this section are routine technical rules pursuant to Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.

Sec. 3. Report. No later than January 15, 2012, the Director of the Office of Business Development within the Department of Economic and Community Development shall submit a report to the Joint Standing Committee on Labor, Commerce, Research and Economic Development on the retail business portfolio license program established in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 5, section 13062, subsection 2, paragraph C. The report must include recommendations on any statutory changes in the laws governing retail business licensing practices the director determines are necessary to improve the effective operation of the program.

summary

This bill streamlines the issuance of state business licenses by creating a retail business portfolio license program in the Department of Economic and Community Development, Office of Business Development. The program, which would begin on January 3, 2012, requires the office to issue a single, consolidated portfolio license to any person possessing a sales tax registration certificate issued for the purpose of operating a retail sales facility. The portfolio license would consolidate into a single license all individual business licenses required for that facility to conduct business in the State, would have a single, prorated renewal date for all licenses in the portfolio license and would be available at a fee not to exceed the sum of the fees for each of the individual licenses.

The bill requires the Director of the Office of Business Development to adopt routine technical rules by December 1, 2011 in order to begin the program on January 3, 2012. The bill also requires the director, by January 15, 2012, to report to the Joint Standing Committee on Labor, Commerce, Research and Economic Development on the operation of the program and on any statutory changes necessary to improve the effective operation of the program.