Bill > HB784

This bill makes several changes to alcoholic beverages licensing in Baltimore City. It establishes new definitions for what constitutes a restaurant, including requiring that at least 40% of daily receipts come from food sales, with specific restrictions on what can be counted as food. The bill allows the Board of License Commissioners to waive the food sales requirement for certain restaurants in specific geographical areas, including those owned by nonprofit organizations or located in designated bounded areas. The legislation also expands the types of alcoholic beverages licenses subject to memorandum of understanding requirements with community associations. Additionally, the bill provides several specific exceptions for various alcoholic beverage licenses, including extended expiration dates for transfers of ownership for licenses in specific locations, such as Harborplace and various street addresses in Baltimore City. The bill allows for some license conversions and transfers that would not typically be permitted, with particular provisions for licenses at Harborplace, including retaining liability for unpaid taxes and restrictions on future transfers. Notably, many of these provisions have a sunset date of June 30, 2030, after which they will automatically expire.