A. Pursuant to
22 MRS
§2499, the Department may delegate
authority to a municipality to conduct inspections. Delegated municipalities
must enter and adhere to a memorandum of understanding with the Department, in
order to engage in these duties.
B.
In delegated municipalities, the Department continues to be the State of Maine
licensing and enforcement authority, and may issue a license to establishments
on the basis of an inspection performed by an inspector who works for, and is
compensated by, the municipality in which such establishment is
located.
C. The following
conditions must be met:
1. The municipality
has adopted the most recent rules or ordinances, which were approved by the
Department and are consistent with the Department's rules and statutes for such
licensure at the time of inspection.
2. A municipally-employed health inspector
may not inspect any establishment under this rule, unless certified as
qualified by the Department.
3. The
Department may, from time to time, inspect such municipally-inspected
establishments, to ascertain that the intent of this rule is being
followed.
4. Delegated
municipalities must use the same operating system, hardware and screen
resolution that the Department uses, in order for the Department to properly
record and store inspection and complaint information.
5. The delegated municipalities are
responsible for ensuring that all establishments within their jurisdiction
renew their State of Maine license, prior to renewing their municipal license.
An establishment operating without the necessary State of Maine license will
result in the establishment being assessed an administrative penalty, as
specified in this rule. The Department may allow a dual municipal/State of
Maine license, issued by the delegated municipality on the Department's
behalf.
6. When the Department
issues a license on the basis of a municipal inspection, the licensee shall pay
a fee to the Department in the amount of $100, to support the costs of
shipping, handling and record keeping.
7. Licenses issued by the Department under
such delegation must be displayed, renewed, and, in every other way, treated as
the same license issued through inspections by the Department.
8. The Department will certify each
municipally-employed health inspector every three years. No
municipally-employed health inspector may conduct inspections under the
provisions of this rule, unless he or she is duly certified. Such certification
will be determined by the Department's review of the inspector's formal and
informal training and education, and other such criteria, such as staff
competency, enforcement and compliance status, inspection practices, attendance
at training meetings and seminars, and record of routine reporting to the
Department.
9. Every three years,
the Department will review each delegated municipality's entire inspection
program.
10. Delegated
municipalities may not charge the Department for performing such
inspections.
11. Delegated
municipalities may not post or release protected health information or medical
information that could reasonably be used to identify a person, except to the
Department, or in accordance with law, due to this information being
confidential as described in
22 MRS
§2499(9).
12. Delegated municipalities shall determine
the primary language of individuals requesting licensing and inspection
services and ensure that the services are provided, either by a qualified
interpreter when English is not the primary language, or a qualified sign
language interpreter. These municipalities shall obtain the service at their
own expense and shall not charge the establishment or the Department for this
service.
These delegated municipalities shall use only qualified
in-house interpreters or Maine-State approved interpreters found at
www.maine.gov.
Vendors are approved in each of the following areas:
American Sign Language Interpretation
Services;
In-Person Spoken Language Interpreting;
Telephonic Interpreting Services; and
Video Remote Interpreting Services
13.
Delegated municipalities shall respond to after-hour calls and holiday
emergencies to the greatest extent practicable, understanding that vacation and
sick time may prevent those health inspectors from responding. Expenses shall
be incurred by the delegated municipalities, and these expenses may not be
charged to the Department for such calls and emergencies. The Department will
provide back-up coverage for after-hour calls and holiday emergencies, in the
event that a delegated municipal health inspector is sick or on vacation, and
no other delegated municipal inspector is able to cover their
district.
D.
Foodborne outbreak protocols. In the event of a suspected or
confirmed foodborne outbreak at a licensed eating establishment within the
delegated municipality's jurisdiction, the delegated municipality shall notify
the Department. If the Department learns of the outbreak first, then it will
notify the delegated municipality as soon as practicable, but no longer than
one hour after learning of the suspected or confirmed outbreak. Outbreaks
suspected or confirmed outside of business hours must be reported to the
Department's Maine CDC Disease Reporting line at 1800-821-5821.
