Bill > S1429

Introduced Session

This bill establishes several procedures by which a plenary retail consumption license, generally issued to bars and restaurants, may be transferred for use as part of an economic redevelopment plan or in connection with premises located in a redevelopment, improvement, or revitalization area located in another municipality. The bill defines "redevelopment, improvement, or revitalization area" as an urban enterprise zone; a downtown business improvement zone; a pedestrian mall or pedestrian mall improvement or special improvement district; a transit oriented development; an area determined to be in need of redevelopment; an area determined to be in need of rehabilitation; or any improvement which is 100 percent new construction, which is an entirely new improvement not previously occupied or used for any purpose. Under current law, a municipality may issue plenary retail consumption licenses until the combined total number in the municipality is fewer than one license for each 3,000 municipal residents. This bill allows a municipality that is entitled to issue an additional plenary retail consumption license to offer the license at public sale to the highest bidding governing body of any other municipality in this State. A license transferred to a receiving municipality only is to be used in connection with a premises as part of an economic redevelopment plan or located within a redevelopment, improvement, or revitalization area. The bill requires the host municipality to provide notice of the public sale to the Director of the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control and other municipalities at least 90 days prior to the sale. The notice to the municipalities is to specify the minimum acceptable bid and general conditions of sale including a statement that the transferring municipality reserves the right to reject all bids where the highest bid is not accepted. The funds derived from the sale are to be remitted to the municipal treasurer for the general use of the host municipality. A receiving municipality that acquires the license would be entitled to offer the license at public sale. A license issued by the receiving municipality to a qualified bidder that is not actively used in connection with the operation of a premises within two years of the issuance date is to expire and not be reissued by the receiving municipality. The receiving municipality would be prohibited from acquiring more than one license through this bidding process in each calendar year. In addition, this bill establishes two procedures for transferring an inactive plenary retail consumption license to a different municipality. Under current law, an inactive plenary retail consumption license is a license to sell alcoholic beverages for on premises consumption that is not being used at an open and operating licensed premises. A licensee is required to place the license on "inactive status" when the licensed business ceases operation and the license continues to be held by the licensee of record. Under this bill, a license that remains inactive for two license terms is to expire. Prior to the expiration of the license, an inactive license is to be actively used by the license holder or transferred to another person who intends to use the license in a private transaction for fair market value. The bill also allows the holder of the inactive license to apply to the governing body of a sending municipality that issued the license and a receiving municipality located within the same county to use the license in connection with a premises located in the receiving municipality. An inactive plenary retail consumption license used in the receiving municipality only would be used as part of an economic redevelopment plan or in connection with a premises located within a redevelopment, improvement, or revitalization area. The bill requires the transferred license to remain in the receiving municipality and prohibits the transfer of license to any other municipality. Under the bill, the sending and receiving municipalities are to submit to the director notice of the intent to transfer a license at least 90 days prior to the transfer. The bill requires the sending and receiving municipalities to adopt by majority vote identical resolutions authorizing the transfer of the license. The identical resolutions are to establish the license transfer fee agreed upon by both municipal governing bodies. A receiving municipality that acquires a license would be entitled to offer the license at public sale in accordance with current law. A license issued by a receiving municipality that is not actively used in connection with the operation of a premises within two years of the transfer date would expire and not be reissued by the receiving municipality. In addition, the bill provides that these licenses would be subject to certain restrictions. The receiving municipality would be required to issue the license to an applicant who certifies to the sending and receiving municipality that the license will be used in connection with the operation of a restaurant at which the retail sale of food is the primary and principal business. The license holder would then be required to annually submit to the issuing authority a report supported by receipts demonstrating that the sale of food constituted at least 60 percent of the store's total annual sales in the last full calendar year preceding the renewal date. A license holder who fails to demonstrate that the sale of food constituted at least 60 percent of the store's total annual sales in the last full calendar year may be subject to revocation of the plenary retail consumption license. The bill also requires the license holder to cease the sale of alcoholic beverages each day at the time that food service has ended or 11:00 p.m., whichever occurs earlier. A license holder would be entitled to transfer the license to another person in a private transaction, but the bill prohibits the license from being relocated to another premises. This bill also allows a receiving municipality that has reached the license population limitation established under current law to issue a request for proposal (RFP) to acquire an inactive plenary retail consumption license from any license holder in this State. The bill requires the receiving municipality to issue the license for use in connection with a premises as part of economic redevelopment plan or a redevelopment, improvement, or revitalization area. The RFP would specify a time and date after which no further applications from license holders will be accepted. The municipality is to publish the RFP in a newspaper circulating generally throughout the State by not less than two insertions, one week apart, the second of which is to be made not less than 30 days prior to the time and date specified in the notice as the time and date after which no further applications will be accepted. In addition, the request for proposal is to be published by the governing body on the official Internet website of the receiving municipality. The RFP is to require that all bids be sealed and remain confidential to other bidders. The holder of an inactive plenary retail consumption license is to apply for permission to transfer the inactive plenary retail consumption license from the sending municipality prior to submitting a bid in response to the RFP. The sending municipality may approve the application by resolution. The sending municipality would be prohibited from requiring the applicant to disclose the location of the proposed licensed premises. After the receiving municipality accepts a successful bid, the sending and receiving municipality are to submit to the director notice of the intent to transfer a license at least 90 days prior to the transfer. The bill requires the sending and receiving municipalities to adopt by majority vote identical resolutions authorizing the transfer of the license. The identical resolutions are to establish the license transfer fee agreed upon by both municipal governing bodies. The bill requires a license that is not actively used within two years of issuance date to expire. A receiving municipality that issued the RFP would be prohibited from acquiring more than one license through this process in each calendar year. Finally, the bill requires the director to establish a four-year timeline for the reissuance of inactive licenses based on the length of time that the license has been inactive. The plenary retail consumption licenses transferred to or acquired by a receiving municipality under the bill's provisions would not be included in the population formula used to issue new licenses.

Committee Categories

Paul Sarlo (D)*,  Troy Singleton (D)*,  Holly Schepisi (R), 

Withdrawn from Consideration (on 02/12/2024)

Official Document