Bill
Bill > A3525
summary
Introduced
01/13/2026
01/13/2026
In Committee
01/13/2026
01/13/2026
Crossed Over
Passed
Dead
Introduced Session
2026-2027 Regular Session
Bill Summary
This bill increases the number of plenary retail distribution licenses that a person may obtain for use in connection with certain retail food stores and liquor stores. Under current law, a person or corporate entity is prohibited from holding more than two retail licenses to sell alcoholic beverages. The bill provides that immediately following the bill's effective date the holder of a plenary retail distribution license would not be subject to the two-license limitation when those retail licenses are used in connection with a retail food store located within an urban food desert. An urban food desert is defined in current law as a municipality, or physically contiguous urban area in the State, in which residents have limited access to nutritious foods, such as fresh fruits and vegetables, through supermarkets, grocery stores, and farmers' markets. In addition, the bill provides that two years following the bill's effective date, a person may own or have an interest in a maximum of four retail licenses provided that two of those licenses are used in a qualifying retail food store or liquor store located throughout the State. Six years following the effective date of the bill, a person may hold not more than a total of six retail licenses provided that four of those licenses are used in a qualifying retail food store or liquor store located throughout the State. Under the bill, a qualifying retail food store is a retail store at which the sale of groceries and other food stuffs is the primary and principal business and constitutes at least 65 percent of the store's total annual sales. A qualifying liquor store is a store at which at least 90 percent of the store's annual sales are alcoholic beverages. Individuals who acquire more than two licenses under the provisions of the bill are required to pay a license transfer fee on each additional license that they acquire. The transfer fee is set at 10 percent of the amount the entity paid for the license and is payable to the municipality in which the licensed premises is situated. This transfer fee would not apply to the holder of a plenary retail distribution license used in connection with a retail food store located in an urban food desert. This bill would not increase the number of licenses that a municipality may issue based on population but, rather, increases the number of retail license that one person may hold.
AI Summary
This bill modifies existing laws regarding the number of alcoholic beverage retail licenses a person can hold, specifically for plenary retail distribution licenses, which are for selling alcohol in original containers for off-premises consumption. Currently, individuals are generally limited to holding two such licenses. However, this bill introduces a phased approach to increase this limit for certain businesses. Immediately after the bill becomes law, holders of these licenses used in connection with a retail food store located in an "urban food desert" (an area with limited access to nutritious food) are exempt from the two-license limit. Two years after the law takes effect, individuals can hold up to four licenses, with two of them needing to be used in qualifying retail food stores or liquor stores anywhere in the state. Six years after the law takes effect, this limit increases to six licenses, with four needing to be used in qualifying retail food stores or liquor stores. A "qualifying retail food store" is defined as a store where groceries and food items make up at least 65% of total annual sales, and a "qualifying liquor store" is one where alcoholic beverages constitute at least 90% of annual sales. Individuals acquiring more than two licenses under these new provisions will generally be required to pay a license transfer fee of 10% of the license's purchase price to the municipality, though this fee is waived for licenses used in urban food desert retail food stores. The bill clarifies that it increases the number of licenses an individual can hold, not the total number of licenses a municipality can issue.
Committee Categories
Government Affairs
Sponsors (3)
Last Action
Introduced, Referred to Assembly Oversight, Reform and Federal Relations Committee (on 01/13/2026)
Official Document
bill text
bill summary
Loading...
bill summary
Loading...
bill summary
| Document Type | Source Location |
|---|---|
| State Bill Page | https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/bill-search/2026/A3525 |
| BillText | https://pub.njleg.gov/Bills/2026/A4000/3525_I1.HTM |
Loading...