§4315. Transportation of wild blueberries

1.  Transportation of wild blueberries; permit required.  A person may not transport wild blueberries in quantities exceeding 25 pounds without first obtaining a transportation permit on an official form to be furnished by the Wild Blueberry Commission of Maine. The Wild Blueberry Commission of Maine shall issue upon request uniquely numbered transportation permit forms to owners. Owners shall issue the transportation permits to first haulers or shippers who transport wild blueberries directly from the field from which the wild blueberries were harvested. Each transportation permit issued automatically expires on the 30th of September in the year in which it was issued. This subsection does not apply to wild blueberries that have been received by a certified shipper or processor and have been weighed, logged into a permanent record-keeping system and reloaded onto a vehicle for shipping under a bill of lading.

[PL 2007, c. 694, §9 (AMD).]

1-A.  Records of permits; confidentiality.  When an owner issues a transportation permit, the owner shall send a copy to the Wild Blueberry Commission of Maine within 3 business days of the date of issuance. The commission shall keep a permanent record of all transportation permits issued. The commission shall establish the form and content of transportation permits and establish the record-keeping requirements for the commission and owners. Notwithstanding any provision of Title 1, chapter 13, subchapter 1 to the contrary, records pertaining to transportation permits required to be kept by the Wild Blueberry Commission of Maine under this section are confidential to the extent necessary to preserve the identity of parties to individual business transactions. The confidential status does not apply when records kept by the Wild Blueberry Commission of Maine are needed as evidence in a proceeding to enforce the provisions of this chapter or in a prosecution for a violation of any other criminal law.

[PL 2007, c. 694, §9 (AMD).]

1-B.  Restrictions on first haulers.  A first hauler who is not certified as a shipper may not transport berries from the field to any entity other than a shipper or a processor holding a valid certification under section 4305.

[PL 2007, c. 694, §9 (NEW).]

2.  Permits subject to forgery laws.  Every permit specified under this section is deemed to be a written instrument subject to the laws of forgery.

[PL 1989, c. 214, §2 (NEW).]

3.  Violation.  The following penalties apply to violations of this section.

A. Except as provided in subsection 4, a person who transports wild blueberries in violation of this section commits :

(1) A Class E crime; or

(2) A Class D crime if the person has 2 or more prior convictions under this paragraph.

A violation under this paragraph is a strict liability crime as defined in Title 17-A, section 34, subsection 4-A.   [PL 2007, c. 694, §9 (AMD).]

B. A person who violates any other provision of this section commits a civil violation for which a fine of not more than $1,000 may be adjudged.   [PL 2007, c. 694, §9 (AMD).]

[PL 2007, c. 694, §9 (AMD).]

4.  Exceptions.  A person is not guilty of transporting wild blueberries without a transportation permit if:

A. The person is transporting wild blueberries that were not harvested in this State;   [PL 2007, c. 694, §9 (AMD).]

B. That person purchased the wild blueberries at a store, farm stand, produce market or other retail outlet; or   [PL 2007, c. 694, §9 (AMD).]

C. That person is an owner transporting less than 100 pounds of wild blueberries harvested from the owner's own land to the owner's residence for personal use.   [PL 2007, c. 694, §9 (NEW).]

[PL 2007, c. 694, §9 (AMD).]

SECTION HISTORY

PL 1989, c. 214, §2 (NEW). PL 1989, c. 859, §1 (AMD). PL 1997, c. 511, §23 (AMD). PL 1999, c. 194, §1 (AMD). PL 2003, c. 452, §§U6-8 (AMD). PL 2003, c. 452, §X2 (AFF). PL 2007, c. 694, §9 (AMD).