Amend the bill by inserting after the title and before the enacting clause the following:
‘Emergency preamble. Whereas, acts and resolves of the Legislature do not become effective until 90 days after adjournment unless enacted as emergencies; and
Whereas, professional sports teams provide valuable entertainment and economic benefits to the communities where they play; and
Whereas, professional sports teams are valuable partners with civic auditoriums and other arenas, which serve as anchor facilities in cities and towns across the State; and
Whereas, it is vital to ensure that arrangements between professional sports teams and civic auditoriums and other large arenas are mutually economically beneficial in order to maintain these important relationships, and in order to maximize the benefit this legislation needs to take effect as soon as possible; and
Whereas, in the judgment of the Legislature, these facts create an emergency within the meaning of the Constitution of Maine and require the following legislation as immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety; now, therefore,’
Amend the bill by striking out all of section 2 and inserting the following:
‘Sec. 2. 28-A MRSA §608 is enacted to read:
A licensee authorized to sell liquor for on-premises consumption may enter into an agreement to share revenues from the sale of liquor with a professional sports team not licensed under this Title if:
Emergency clause. In view of the emergency cited in the preamble, this legislation takes effect when approved.’
SUMMARY
This amendment adds an emergency preamble and emergency clause to the bill and strikes the requirement that a professional sports team must play at least 15 calendar days at a host facility in order to share revenue from liquor sales with the host facility. The amendment also provides that the revenue-sharing exception applies to any licensee that has the capacity to seat at least 3,000 people and hosts a professional sports team, not just licensed civic auditoriums. The amendment also requires that the licensee disclose not only the existence of an agreement with the sports team but also the terms of the revenue-sharing agreement when applying for a liquor license.