SB396 By Senator Whatley RFD County and Municipal Government Rd 1 27-APR-17

SYNOPSIS: The sale of alcoholic beverages on Sundays and the sale of draft or keg beer is only allowed in a wet county or wet municipality if authorized by local law.

This bill would authorize the county commission of a wet county, by resolution, to regulate and permit the sale of alcoholic beverages during certain hours on Sunday or the sale of draft or keg beer by properly licensed retail licensees.

This bill would also authorize the governing body of a wet municipality, by ordinance, to regulate and permit the sale of alcoholic beverages during certain hours on Sunday or the sale of draft or keg beer by properly licensed retail licensees.

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT

To amend Sections 28-3A-23 and Section 28-3A-25, as amended by Act 2016-111, 2016 Regular Session, Code of Alabama 1975, relating to the sale of alcoholic beverages; to authorize the county commission of a wet county, by resolution, to regulate and permit the sale of alcoholic beverages on Sunday or the sale of draft or keg beer by properly licensed retail licensees; and to authorize the governing body of a wet municipality, by ordinance to regulate and permit the sale of alcoholic beverages on Sunday or the sale of draft or keg beer by properly licensed retail licensees.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:Section 1. Sections 28-3A-23 and Section 28-3A-25, as last amended by Act 2016-111, 2016 Regular Session, Code of Alabama 1975, are amended to read as follows:

§28-3A-23.

"(a) No license prescribed in this code shall be issued or renewed until the provisions of this code have been complied with and the filing and license fees other than those levied by a municipality are paid to the board.

"(b) Licenses shall be granted and issued by the board only to reputable individuals, to associations whose members are reputable individuals, or to reputable corporations organized under the laws of the State of Alabama or duly qualified thereunder to do business in Alabama, or, in the case of manufacturers, duly registered under the laws of Alabama, and then only when it appears that all officers and directors of the corporation are reputable individuals.

"(c) Every license issued under this code shall be constantly and conspicuously displayed on the licensed premises.

"(d) Each retail liquor license application must be approved by the governing authority of the municipality if the retailer is located in a municipality, or by the county commission if the retailer is located in the county and outside the limits of the municipality before the board shall have authority to grant the license.

"(e) Any retailer may be granted licenses to maintain, operate, or conduct any number of places for the sale of alcoholic beverages, but a separate license must be secured for each place where alcoholic beverages are sold. No retail license issued under this code shall be used for more than one premise, nor for separate types of operation on the same premise. Provided, however, any such licensed retail operation existing on May 14, 2009, and operating based on dual licenses, both a club or lounge license and a restaurant license, on the same premises shall be exempt from the requirement of the preceding sentence and may continue to operate under such dual licenses. The provisions of any rule promulgated by the board relating to the requirements concerning such dual licenses, both a club or lounge license and a restaurant license, shall not apply to any such retail operation existing on May 14, 2009. The aforementioned rules shall include, but not be limited to, the maintenance of separate books, separate entrances, and separate inventories. Each premise must have a separate retail license. Where more than one retail operation is located within the same building, each such operation under a separate or different ownership is required to obtain a separate retail license; and where more than one type of retail operation located within the same building is operated by the same licensee, such licensee must have a license for each type of retail operation. Provided, there shall be no licenses issued by the board for the sale of liquor, beer or wine by rolling stores.

"(f) No retailer shall sell any alcoholic beverages for consumption on the licensed premises except in a room or rooms or place on the licensed premises at all times accessible to the use and accommodation of the general public; but this section shall not be interpreted to prevent a hotel or club licensee from selling such beverages in any room of such hotel or club house occupied by a bona fide registered guest or member or private party entitled to purchase the same.

"(g) All beer, except draft or keg beer, sold by retailers must be sold or dispensed in bottles, cans, or other containers not to exceed 25.4 ounces. All wine sold by retailers for off-premise consumption must be sold or dispensed in bottles or other containers in accordance with the standards of fill specified in the then effective standards of fill for wine prescribed by the U.S. Treasury Department.

"(h) Draft or keg beer may be sold or dispensed within this state within those counties in which and in the manner in which the sale of draft or keg beer was authorized by law on September 30, 1980 or in which the sale of draft or keg beer is hereafter authorized by law and within a wet municipality in which the sale of draft or keg beer is authorized by law; provided in rural communities with a predominantly foreign population, after the payment of the tax imposed by this title, draft or keg beer may be sold or dispensed by special permit from the board, when, in the judgment of the board, the use and consumption of draft or keg beer is in accordance with the habit and customs of the people of any such rural community; provided further, the board may, in its discretion, grant to any civic center authority or its franchisee or concessionaire, to which the board may have issued or may simultaneously issue a retail license under the provisions of this code, a revocable temporary permit to sell or dispense in any part of its civic center, for consumption therein, draft or keg beer. Either such The temporary permit shall be promptly revoked by the board if, in its judgment, the same tends to create intemperance or is prejudicial to the welfare, health, peace, temperance, and safety of the people of the community or of the state.

"(i) No importer shall sell alcoholic beverages to any person other than a wholesaler licensee, or sell to a wholesaler licensee any brand or brands of alcoholic beverages for sale or distribution in this state, except where the importer has been granted written authorization from the manufacturer thereof to import and sell the brand or brands to be sold in the State of Alabama, which authorization is on file with the board.

"(j) No wholesaler shall maintain or operate any place where sales are made other than that for which the wholesale license is granted; provided, however, a wholesaler may be licensed to sell and distribute liquor, wine and beer. No wholesaler shall maintain any place for the storage of liquor, wine or beer unless the same has been approved by the board. No wholesaler license shall be issued for any premises in any part of which there is operated any retail license for the sale of alcoholic beverages.

"(k) Licenses issued under this code may not be assigned. The board is hereby authorized to transfer any license from one person to another, or from one place to another within the same governing jurisdiction, or both, as the board may determine; but no transfers shall be made to a person who would not have been eligible to receive the license originally, nor for the transaction of business at a place for which the license could not originally have been issued lawfully.

"(l) Every applicant for a transfer of a license shall file a written application with the board within such time as the board shall fix in its regulations. Whenever any license is transferred, there shall be collected a filing fee of $50.00, to be paid to the board, and the board shall pay such fee into the State Treasury to the credit of the Beer Tax and License Fund of the board.

"(m) In the event that any person to whom a license shall have been issued under the terms of this code shall become insolvent, make an assignment for the benefit of creditors, be adjudicated a bankrupt by either voluntary or involuntary action, the license of such person shall immediately terminate and be cancelled without any action on the part of the board, and there shall be no refund made, or credit given, for the unused portion of the license fee for the remainder of the license year for which said license was granted. Thereafter no license shall be issued by the board for the premises, wherein said license was conducted, to any assignee, committee, trustee, receiver, or successor of such licensee until a hearing has been held by the board as in the case of a new application for license. In all such cases, the board shall have the sole and final discretion as to the propriety of the issuance of a license for such premises, and the time it shall issue, and the period for which it shall be issued, and shall have the further power to impose conditions under which said licensed premises shall be conducted.

§28-3A-25.

"(a) It shall be unlawful:

"(1) For any manufacturer, importer, or wholesaler, or the servants, agents, or employees of the same, to sell, trade, or barter in alcoholic beverages between the hours of nine o'clock P.M. of any Saturday and two o'clock A.M. of the following Monday.

"(2) For any wholesaler or the servants, agents, or employees of the wholesaler to sell alcoholic beverages, to other than wholesale or retail licensees or others within this state lawfully authorized to sell alcoholic beverages, or to sell for export.

"(3) For any person, licensee, or the board either directly or by the servants, agents, or employees of the same, or for any servant, agent, or employee of the same, to sell, deliver, furnish, or give away alcoholic beverages to any person under the legal drinking age, as defined in Section 28-1-5, or to permit any person under the legal drinking age, as defined in Section 28-1-5, to drink, consume, or possess any alcoholic beverages on any licensee's premises.

"(4) For any person to consume alcoholic beverages on the premises of any state liquor store or any off-premises licensee, or to allow alcoholic beverages to be consumed on the premises of any state liquor store or any off-premises licensee, except as specifically allowed by law for the tasting of alcoholic beverages.

"(5) For any licensee to fail to keep for a period of at least three years, complete and truthful records covering the operation of his or her license and particularly showing the date of all purchases of alcoholic beverages, the actual price paid therefor, and the name of the vendor, or to refuse the board or any authorized employee of the board access to the records or the opportunity to make copies of the records when the request is made during business hours.

"(6) For any licensee or the servants, agents, or employees of the same to refuse the board, any of its authorized employees, or any duly commissioned law enforcement officer the right to completely inspect the entire licensed premises at any time the premises are open for business.

"(7) For any person to knowingly sell any alcoholic beverages to any person engaged in the business of illegally selling alcoholic beverages.

"(8) For any person to manufacture, transport, or import alcoholic beverages into this state, except in accordance with the reasonable rules and regulations of the board. This subdivision shall not prohibit the transportation of alcoholic beverages through the state or any dry county so long as the beverages are not for delivery therein, if the transportation is done in accordance with the reasonable rules and regulations of the board.

"(9) For any person to fortify, adulterate, contaminate, or in any manner change the character or purity of alcoholic beverages from that as originally marketed by the manufacturer, except that a retail licensee on order from a customer may mix a chaser or other ingredients necessary to prepare a cocktail or mixed drink for on-premises consumption.

"(10) For any person licensed to sell alcoholic beverages to offer to give any thing of value as a premium for the return of caps, stoppers, corks, stamps, or labels taken from any bottle, case, barrel, or package containing the alcoholic beverages, or to offer to give any thing of value as a premium or present to induce the purchase of the alcoholic beverages, or for any other purpose whatsoever in connection with the sale of the alcoholic beverages. This subdivision shall not apply to the return of any moneys specifically deposited for the return of the original containers to the owners of the containers.

"(11) For any licensee or transporter for hire, servant, agent, or employee of the same, to transport any alcoholic beverages except in the original container, and for any transporter for hire to transport any alcoholic beverages within the state, unless the transporter holds a permit issued by the board.

"(12) For any manufacturer, importer, or wholesaler, servant, agent, or employee of the same, to deliver any alcoholic beverages, except in vehicles bearing such information on each side of the vehicle as required by the board.

"(13) For any person to sell alcoholic beverages within any dry county or county where the electors have voted against the sales, except in wet municipalities or as authorized by Section 28-3A-18.

"(14) For any person, firm, corporation, partnership, or association of persons as the terms are defined in Section 28-3-1, including any civic center authority, racing commission, fair authority, airport authority, public or quasi-public board, agency, or commission, any agent thereof, or otherwise, who or which has not been properly licensed under the appropriate provisions of this chapter to sell, offer for sale, or have in possession for sale, any alcoholic beverages. Any alcoholic beverages so possessed, maintained, or kept shall be contraband and subject to condemnation and confiscation as provided by law.

"(15) For any manufacturer, distiller, producer, importer, or distributor of alcoholic beverages to employ and maintain any person, who is not a full-time bona fide employee, as a resident sales agent, broker, or other like representative, for the purpose of promoting a sale, purchase, or acquisition of alcoholic beverages to or by the state or the board, or for any person who is not a full-time bona fide employee to act as an agent, broker, or representative of any manufacturer, distributor, producer, importer, or distiller for that purpose.

"(16) For any person to sell, give away, or otherwise dispose of taxable alcoholic beverages within this state on which the required taxes have not been paid as required by law.

"(17) For any wholesaler or retailer, or the servant, agent, or employee of the same, to sell, distribute, deliver, or to receive or store for sale or distribution within this state any alcoholic beverages unless there first has been issued by the board a manufacturer's license to the manufacturer of the alcoholic beverages or its designated representative or an importer license to the importer of the alcoholic beverages.

"(18) For any person under the legal drinking age, as defined in Section 28-1-5, to attempt to purchase, to purchase, consume, possess, or to transport any alcoholic beverages within the state; provided, however, it shall not be unlawful for a person under the legal drinking age, as defined in Section 28-1-5, to be an employee of a wholesale licensee or an off-premises retail licensee of the board to handle, transport, or sell any beer or table wine if the person under the legal drinking age is acting within the line and scope of his or her employment while so acting. There must be an adult licensee, servant, agent, or employee of the same present at all times a licensed establishment is open for business.

"(19) For any person, except where authorized by a local act or general act of local application or pursuant to Section 2 or 3 of this act, to buy, give away, sell, or serve for consumption on or off the premises, or to drink or consume any alcoholic beverages in any cafe, lunchroom, restaurant, hotel dining room, or other public place on Sunday after the hour of two o'clock A.M.

"(20) Except where authorized by a local act or general act of local application or pursuant to Section 2 or 3 of this act, for the proprietor, keeper, or operator of any cafe, lunchroom, restaurant, hotel dining room, or other public place to knowingly permit any person to give away, sell, or serve for consumption on or off the premises, or to drink or consume any alcoholic beverages on the premises of the cafe, lunchroom, restaurant, hotel dining room, or other public place on Sunday after the hour of two o'clock A.M.

"(21) For a person under the age of 21 years to knowingly use or attempt to use a false, forged, deceptive, or otherwise nongenuine driver's license to obtain or attempt to obtain alcoholic beverages within this state.

"(b)(1) Any violation of subdivisions (1) through (17) of subsection (a) shall be a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than one hundred dollars ($100) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), to which, at the discretion of the court or judge trying the case, may be added imprisonment in the county jail or at hard labor for the county for not more than six months for the first conviction; and, on the second conviction of a violation of the subdivisions, the offense shall, in addition to the aforementioned fine, be punishable by imprisonment or at hard labor for the county for not less than three months nor more than six months to be imposed by the court or judge trying the case; and, on the third conviction and every subsequent conviction of a violation of the subdivisions, the offense shall, in addition to a fine within the limits abovenamed, be punishable by imprisonment or at hard labor for the county for not less than six months nor more than 12 months.

"(2) Any violation of any provision of subdivisions (18), (19), (20), and (21) of subsection (a) shall be a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than fifty dollars ($50) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500), to which, at the discretion of the court or judge trying the case, may be added imprisonment in the county jail or at hard labor for the county for not more than three months.

"(c) In addition to the penalties otherwise provided for a violation of subdivisions (18) and (21) of subsection (a), upon conviction, including convictions in juvenile court or under the Youthful Offender Act, the offender's license to operate a motor vehicle in this state shall be surrendered by the offender to the judge adjudicating the case for a period of not less than three months nor more than six months. The judge shall forward a copy of the order suspending the license to the Department of Public Safety for enforcement purposes."

Section 2. (a) In any wet county, the county commission, by resolution, may regulate and permit the sale of alcoholic beverages on Sunday after the hour of two o'clock a.m., for on-premises or off-premises consumption, or both, as determined by the county commission, by properly licensed retail licensees of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board.

(b) In any wet county, the county commission, by resolution, may regulate and permit the sale of keg or draft beer, for on-premises or off-premises consumption, or both, as determined by the county commission, by properly licensed retail licensees of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board.

Section 3. (a) In any wet municipality, the local governing body, by ordinance, may regulate and permit the sale of alcoholic beverages on Sunday after the hour of two o'clock a.m., for on-premises or off-premises consumption, or both, as determined by the local governing body, by properly licensed retail licensees of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board.

(b) In any wet municipality, the local governing body, by ordinance, may regulate and permit the sale of keg or draft beer, for on-premises or off-premises consumption, or both, as determined by the local governing body, by properly licensed retail licensees of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board.

Section 4. This act shall become effective on the first day of the third month following its passage and approval by the Governor, or its otherwise becoming law.

Alcoholic Beverages

Counties

Municipalities

County Commissions

City Council

Alcoholic Beverage Control Board

Beer

Code Amended