{"id":"DUT-ME-009","kind":"duty","level":"state","jurisdiction":"Maine","state":"ME","metro":"","industry":"","agency":"","eco":"","issuer":"Maine Legislature (22 M.R.S. chapter 153, Local Health Officers; every municipality\u0027s local health officer under the supervision of the Commissioner of Health and Human Services)","authority":"R.S. 1954; P.L. 1989, c. 487; sec. 454-A enacted by P.L. 2007, c. 598, sec. 7","instrument":"22 M.R.S. sec. 451 (appointment), sec. 453 (local board of health), sec. 454-A (powers and duties: inspection of premises where \u0027conditions posing a public health threat\u0027 exist; orders for \u0027the suppression and removal of nuisances and conditions suspected of posing or found to pose a public health threat\u0027; enforcement of public health laws), sec. 461 (notice to clean or quit unfit premises; closure), sec. 462 (law enforcement assistance)","title":"Title 22, Chapter 153: Local Health Officers (Maine Revised Statutes, chapter compilation generated January 5, 2026)","dateIssued":"2026-01-05","effective":"standing; text in force throughout March 2020 to September 2021","end":"standing","startDate":"2026-01-05","endDate":"","quarters":["2020Q2","2020Q3","2020Q4","2021Q1","2021Q2","2021Q3"],"types":["DUTY","CLOSE","COND"],"addressees":["owners or persons in control of premises (\u0027any place or premises where filth... or conditions posing a public health threat are known or believed to exist\u0027); persons generally"],"clause":"[A] local health officer shall:... F.... order the suppression and removal of nuisances and conditions suspected of posing or found to pose a public health threat;... \u0027public health threat\u0027 means any condition or behavior that can reasonably be expected to place others at significant risk of exposure to infection with a communicable disease.","enforcement":"sec. 461: closure of unfit premises and forfeiture of $10 to $50 for each day the premises remain unfit after written notice; sec. 1561 (Ex. DUT-ME-015): forfeiture up to $300 and removal at the owner\u0027s expense; sec. 462: law enforcement assistance; 22 M.R.S. sec. 804(1) (Ex. DUT-ME-001): local health officers enforce the Department\u0027s communicable-disease rules","functions":[],"notes":"Every owner or occupant of premises in every Maine municipality to admit the local health officer (with consent or an inspection warrant) where \u0027conditions posing a public health threat are known or believed to exist,\u0027 to obey the officer\u0027s orders for the suppression and removal of such conditions, and, for dwellings, to clean or quit premises \u0027a cause of sickness to the occupants or the public\u0027 on pain of closure and daily forfeitures; the local officer reports communicable-disease facts to the Commissioner during a declared health emergency (sec. 454-A(2)(C)) and may call on law enforcement when obstructed (sec. 462).","sourceUrl":"https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/22/title22ch153.pdf","snapshot":"","fileExists":true,"fileBytes":137795,"grade":"primary","character":"sanitary_code_duty","description":"","collection":"DUT-ME","url":"/library/DUT-ME-009","exhibitUrl":"/exhibit/DUT-ME-009","citation":"Maine Legislature (22 M.R.S. chapter 153, Local Health Officers; every municipality\u0027s local health officer under the supervision of the Commissioner of Health and Human Services), 22 M.R.S. sec. 451 (appointment), sec. 453 (local board of health), sec. 454-A (powers and duties: inspection of premises where \u0027conditions posing a public health threat\u0027 exist; orders for \u0027the suppression and removal of nuisances and conditions suspected of posing or found to pose a public health threat\u0027; enforcement of public health laws), sec. 461 (notice to clean or quit unfit premises; closure), sec. 462 (law enforcement assistance) (standing) (Ex. DUT-ME-009)","stateName":"Maine","related":["ME-029","DUT-ME-015","DUT-ME-001","DUT-ME-010"]}