Bill Text: NJ S1218 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Authorizes certain restaurants to advertise that patrons may bring their own beer or wine or purchase wine from on premises salesroom.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-09 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Law and Public Safety Committee [S1218 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-S1218-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2024 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator JAMES BEACH
District 6 (Burlington and Camden)
SYNOPSIS
Authorizes certain restaurants to advertise that patrons may bring their own beer or wine or purchase wine from on premises salesroom.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act authorizing certain restaurants to advertise the availability of wine or beer and amending P.L.1999, c.90.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 5 of P.L.1999, c.90 (C.2C:33-27) is amended to read as follows:
5. Consumption of alcohol in restaurants.
a. [No] A person who owns or operates a restaurant, dining room, or other public place where food or liquid refreshments are sold or served to the general public, and for which premises a license or permit authorizing the sale of alcoholic beverages for on-premises consumption has not been issued shall not:
(1) [Shall] allow the consumption of alcoholic beverages, other than wine or a malt alcoholic beverage, in a portion of the premises which is open to the public; [or]
(2) [Shall] charge any admission fee or cover, corkage, or service charge [or advertise inside or outside of such premises that patrons may bring and consume their own wine or malt alcoholic beverages in a portion of the premises which is open to the public.]; or
(3) [Shall] allow the consumption of wine or malt alcoholic beverages at times or by persons to whom the service or consumption [or] of alcoholic beverages on the licensed premises is prohibited by State or municipal law or regulation.
b. (1) Nothing in this act shall restrict the right of a municipality or an owner or operator of a restaurant, dining room, or other public place where food or liquid refreshments are sold or served to the general public from prohibiting the consumption of alcoholic beverages on those premises.
(2) Nothing in this act shall restrict the right of an owner or operator of a restaurant, dining room, or other unlicensed public premises where food or liquid refreshments are sold or served to the general public from advertising inside or outside of the premises that patrons may:
(a) bring and consume their own wine or malt alcoholic beverages in a portion of the premises which is open to the public; or
(b) purchase wine from a salesroom located on the premises as authorized by subsections 2a., 2b., or 2e. of R.S.33:1-10.
c. A person who violates any provision of this act is a disorderly person, and the court, in addition to the sentence imposed for the disorderly person violation, may by its judgment bar the owner or operator from allowing consumption of wine or malt alcoholic beverages [in his] on the premises as authorized by this act.
(cf: P.L.1999, c.90, s.5)
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill removes the State's statutory prohibition on restaurants without liquor licenses advertising that their patrons may bring their own beer or wine ("BYOB") for consumption on the premises. The bill also authorizes restaurants to advertise that certain wines in winery salesrooms located on the premises are available for purchase.
Under current statutory law, a person who owns or operates a restaurant, dining room, or other public place where food or liquid refreshments are sold or served to the general public, but is not licensed to sell alcoholic beverages for on-premises consumption, may allow the consumption of wine or beer in those portions of the premises open to the public. But the owner or operator is prohibited from advertising this option inside or outside of the premises. An owner or operator who violates the prohibition on advertising BYOB is guilty of a disorderly persons offense, which is punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to six months, a fine of up to $1,000, or both.
The bill removes the prohibition on advertising that a restaurant is BYOB in response to a recent decision by the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, GJJM Enterprises, LLC v. City of Atlantic City, holding that the State's prohibition on BYOB advertising is an unconstitutional violation of the First Amendment right to free speech.
Also, current law authorizes plenary wineries which produce less than 250,000 gallons of wine per year, as well as farm wineries, to sell their wines in 15 salesrooms off the winery premises for consumption on and off the premises and for sampling purposes. "Sampling" is defined as selling at a nominal charge or the gratuitous offering of an open container not exceeding one and one-half ounces of any wine. Out-of-State wineries which produce less than 250,000 gallons of wine per year similarly are authorized to sell their wine in up to 16 salesrooms. Under the bill, restaurants which have a salesroom on the premises would be authorized to advertise that these wines are available for purchase.
