Bill Text: NJ S2147 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Permits issuance of special license in certain municipalities with shopping malls.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-09 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Law and Public Safety Committee [S2147 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-S2147-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
221st LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2024 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator JOSEPH P. CRYAN
District 20 (Union)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senator Schepisi
SYNOPSIS
Permits issuance of special license in certain municipalities with shopping malls.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning alcoholic beverage licenses and supplementing Title 33 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. As used in this section,
"Eligible municipality" means a municipality in which at least one shopping mall is located and the number of plenary retail consumption licenses has reached the population limitation established in section 2 of P.L.1947, c.94 (C.33:1-12.14).
"Shopping mall" means an enclosed walkway or hall area under common ownership or control, that is open to the public and connects with or provides access to separate retail establishments, including at least one restaurant or other establishment that serves alcoholic beverages pursuant to a plenary retail consumption license.
b. The Director of the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control, upon approval of an eligible municipality, may issue one special license for each license that is sited in a premises located within a shopping mall in the municipality. The license may be issued to one or more individual corporations or other types of legal entities operating a premises where alcoholic beverages are intended to be served, which is located other than within a shopping mall. The license shall authorize the sale of alcoholic beverages for immediate consumption on the operator's premises.
c. No person who would fail to qualify as a licensee under Title 33 of the Revised Statutes shall be permitted to hold an interest in a special license under the provisions of this section.
d. Licenses shall be subject to all the provisions of Title 33 of the Revised Statutes, rules and regulations promulgated by the director and municipal ordinances.
e. A license issued pursuant to this section shall not be transferred to any premises located within a shopping mall.
f. Application for the initial issuance and renewal of each license shall be made to the director on an annual basis. The fee for the initial issuance of the license shall be two and one half times the average sale price for the three most recent sales of plenary retail consumption licenses in the municipality where the license is being issued during the preceding five years. If less than three plenary retail consumption licenses have been sold in the municipality or municipalities, as the case may be, within the previous five years, the municipality or municipalities, as the case may be, shall obtain an appraisal, at the applicant's expense, to determine the appropriate fee for the license. The appraisal process shall include an examination of previous transactions in the municipality or municipalities, as the case may be, and shall reflect what a willing buyer, under no pressure to buy, would pay a willing seller, under no pressure to sell, for a plenary retail consumption license in that municipality or municipalities, as the case may be. One half of the amount of the application fee for the initial issuance of the license shall be paid upon the issuance of the license and the other half of that amount shall be paid one year later. The director shall establish an annual fee for the license which shall not exceed the fee which may be imposed by a municipality for a plenary retail consumption license pursuant to R.S.33:1-12.
g. The fee for the initial issuance of the license shall be distributed in the following manner:
(1) Fifty percent shall be paid to the eligible municipality in which the license is issued; and
(2) Fifty percent shall be paid to the Director of the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control.
h. If the individual corporation or entity holding the license determines to sell a license issued pursuant to this section, the license shall be sold for the sum paid pursuant to subsection f. of this section.
i. The director shall not issue a special concessionaire permit for any location or premises which is eligible to obtain a license to serve alcoholic beverages under the provisions of this act.
j. Pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), the director shall adopt rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes of this act.
2. This act shall take effect on the first day of seventh month next following the date of enactment, except the Director of the Division of Alcoholic Beverage control may take anticipatory administrative action in advance thereof as shall be necessary for the implementation of this act.
STATEMENT
This bill authorizes the issuance of special licenses in certain municipalities with shopping malls.
Under the bill, the Director of the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control, upon approval of an eligible municipality, may issue one special license for each plenary retail consumption license that is sited in a premises within a shopping mall located in the municipality. The license may be issued to one or more individual corporations or other types of legal entities operating a premises not located in a shopping mall, where alcoholic beverages are intended to be served. The license authorizes the sale of alcoholic beverages for immediate consumption on the operator's premises.
The bill defines an "eligible municipality" as one in which at least one shopping mall is located and the number of plenary retail consumption licenses issued has reached the population limitation. A "shopping mall" is defined in the bill as an enclosed walkway or hall area under common ownership or control, that is open to the public and connects with or provides access to separate retail establishments, including at least one restaurant or other establishment that serves alcoholic beverages pursuant to a plenary retail consumption license.
Current law provides that one plenary retail consumption license may be issued per 3,000 residents of a municipality. It has become increasingly common that plenary retail consumption licenses in municipalities with shopping malls are obtained, upon becoming available, by businesses located within the shopping malls, making it difficult for local businesses in downtowns and other areas of the municipalities to compete. This bill is intended to provide an alternate method for a business, such as a bar or restaurant, not located within a shopping mall to obtain a license to sell alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises.
