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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to seating requirements for special 2
food service establishment licenses; amending s. 3
561.20, F.S.; revising the requirements for receiving 4
a special food service establishment license; 5
providing an effective date. 6
7
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 8
9
Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section 10
561.20, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 11
561.20 Limitation upon number of licenses issued. — 12
(2)(a) The limitation of the number of licenses as 13
provided in this section does not prohibit the issuance of a 14
special license to: 15
1. Any bona fide hotel, motel, or motor court of not fewer 16
than 80 guest rooms in any county having a population of less 17
than 50,000 residents, and of not fewer than 100 guest rooms in 18
any county having a population of 50,000 residents or greater; 19
or any bona fide hotel or motel located in a historic structure , 20
as defined in s. 561.01(2 0), with fewer than 100 guest rooms 21
which derives at least 51 percent of its gross revenue from the 22
rental of hotel or motel rooms, which is licensed as a public 23
lodging establishment by the Division of Hotels and Restaurants; 24
provided, however, that a bon a fide hotel or motel with no fewer 25
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than 10 and no more than 25 guest rooms which is a historic 26
structure, as defined in s. 561.01(20) , in a municipality that 27
on the effective date of this act has a population, according to 28
the University of Florida's Bure au of Economic and Business 29
Research Estimates of Population for 1998, of no fewer than 30
25,000 and no more than 35,000 residents and that is within a 31
constitutionally chartered county may be issued a special 32
license. This special license shall allow the sa le and 33
consumption of alcoholic beverages only on the licensed premises 34
of the hotel or motel. In addition, the hotel or motel must 35
derive at least 60 percent of its gross revenue from the rental 36
of hotel or motel rooms and the sale of food and nonalcoholi c 37
beverages; provided that this subparagraph shall supersede local 38
laws requiring a greater number of hotel rooms; 39
2. Any condominium accommodation of which no fewer than 40
100 condominium units are wholly rentable to transients and 41
which is licensed under chapter 509, except that the license 42
shall be issued only to the person or corporation that operates 43
the hotel or motel operation and not to the association of 44
condominium owners; 45
3. Any condominium accommodation of which no fewer than 50 46
condominium units are wholly rentable to transients, which is 47
licensed under chapter 509, and which is located in any county 48
having home rule under s. 10 or s. 11, Art. VIII of the State 49
Constitution of 1885, as amended, and incorporated by reference 50
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in s. 6(e), Art. VIII of the State Constitution, except that the 51
license shall be issued only to the person or corporation that 52
operates the hotel or motel operation and not to the association 53
of condominium owners; 54
4. A food service establishment that has 2,500 square fee t 55
of service area, is equipped to serve meals to 100 150 persons 56
at one time, and derives at least 51 percent of its gross food 57
and beverage revenue from the sale of food and nonalcoholic 58
beverages during the first 120 -day operating period and the 59
first 12-month operating period thereafter. Subsequent audit 60
timeframes must be based upon the audit percentage established 61
by the most recent audit and conducted on a staggered scale as 62
follows: level 1, 51 percent to 60 percent, every year; level 2, 63
61 percent to 75 percent, every 2 years; level 3, 76 percent to 64
90 percent, every 3 years; and level 4, 91 percent to 100 65
percent, every 4 years. A licensee under this subparagraph may 66
sell or deliver alcoholic beverages in a sealed container for 67
off-premises consumption if the sale or delivery is accompanied 68
by the sale of food within the same order. Such authorized sale 69
or delivery includes wine -based and liquor-based beverages 70
prepared by the licensee or its employee and packaged in a 71
container sealed by the license e or its employee. This 72
subparagraph may not be construed to authorize public food 73
service establishments licensed under this subparagraph to sell 74
a bottle of distilled spirits sealed by a manufacturer. Any sale 75
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or delivery of malt beverages must comply wi th the container 76
size, labeling, and filling requirements imposed under s. 77
563.06. Any delivery of an alcoholic beverage under this 78
subparagraph must comply with s. 561.57. An alcoholic beverage 79
drink prepared by the vendor and sold or delivered for 80
consumption off the premises must be placed in a container 81
securely sealed by the licensee or its employees with an 82
unbroken seal that prevents the beverage from being immediately 83
consumed before removal from the premises. Such alcoholic 84
beverage also must be pl aced in a bag or other container that is 85
secured in such a manner that it is visibly apparent if the 86
container has been subsequently opened or tampered with, and a 87
dated receipt for the alcoholic beverage and food must be 88
provided by the licensee and attac hed to the bag or container. 89
If transported in a motor vehicle, an alcoholic beverage that is 90
not in a container sealed by the manufacturer must be placed in 91
a locked compartment, a locked trunk, or the area behind the 92
last upright seat of a motor vehicle. It is a violation of the 93
prohibition in s. 562.11 to allow any person under the age of 21 94
to deliver alcoholic beverages on behalf of a vendor. The vendor 95
or the agent or employee of the vendor must verify the age of 96
the person making the delivery of the alcoholic beverage before 97
allowing any person to take possession of an alcoholic beverage 98
for the purpose of making a delivery on behalf of a vendor under 99
this section. A food service establishment granted a special 100
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license on or after January 1, 1958, pur suant to general or 101
special law may not operate as a package store and may not sell 102
intoxicating beverages under such license after the hours of 103
serving or consumption of food have elapsed. Failure by a 104
licensee to meet the required percentage of food and 105
nonalcoholic beverage gross revenues during the covered 106
operating period shall result in revocation of the license or 107
denial of the pending license application. A licensee whose 108
license is revoked or an applicant whose pending application is 109
denied, or any person required to qualify on the special license 110
application, is ineligible to have any interest in a subsequent 111
application for such a license for a period of 120 days after 112
the date of the final denial or revocation; 113
5. Any caterer, deriving at least 51 percent of its gross 114
food and beverage revenue from the sale of food and nonalcoholic 115
beverages at each catered event, licensed by the Division of 116
Hotels and Restaurants under chapter 509. This subparagraph does 117
not apply to a culinary education progra m, as defined in s. 118
381.0072(2), which is licensed as a public food service 119
establishment by the Division of Hotels and Restaurants and 120
provides catering services. Notwithstanding any law to the 121
contrary, a licensee under this subparagraph shall sell or se rve 122
alcoholic beverages only for consumption on the premises of a 123
catered event at which the licensee is also providing prepared 124
food, and shall prominently display its license at any catered 125
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event at which the caterer is selling or serving alcoholic 126
beverages. A licensee under this subparagraph shall purchase all 127
alcoholic beverages it sells or serves at a catered event from a 128
vendor licensed under s. 563.02(1), s. 564.02(1), or licensed 129
under s. 565.02(1) subject to the limitation imposed in 130
subsection (1), as appropriate. A licensee under this 131
subparagraph may not store any alcoholic beverages to be sold or 132
served at a catered event. Any alcoholic beverages purchased by 133
a licensee under this subparagraph for a catered event that are 134
not used at that event must remain with the customer; provided 135
that if the vendor accepts unopened alcoholic beverages, the 136
licensee may return such alcoholic beverages to the vendor for a 137
credit or reimbursement. Regardless of the county or counties in 138
which the licensee opera tes, a licensee under this subparagraph 139
shall pay the annual state license tax set forth in s. 140
565.02(1)(b). A licensee under this subparagraph must maintain 141
for a period of 3 years all records and receipts for each 142
catered event, including all contracts, customers' names, event 143
locations, event dates, food purchases and sales, alcoholic 144
beverage purchases and sales, nonalcoholic beverage purchases 145
and sales, and any other records required by the department by 146
rule to demonstrate compliance with the require ments of this 147
subparagraph. Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, any 148
vendor licensed under s. 565.02(1) subject to the limitation 149
imposed in subsection (1), may, without any additional licensure 150
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under this subparagraph, serve or sell alcoholic beverage s for 151
consumption on the premises of a catered event at which prepared 152
food is provided by a caterer licensed under chapter 509. If a 153
licensee under this subparagraph also possesses any other 154
license under the Beverage Law, the license issued under this 155
subparagraph may not authorize the holder to conduct activities 156
on the premises to which the other license or licenses apply 157
that would otherwise be prohibited by the terms of that license 158
or the Beverage Law. This section does not permit the licensee 159
to conduct activities that are otherwise prohibited by the 160
Beverage Law or local law. The Division of Alcoholic Beverages 161
and Tobacco is hereby authorized to adopt rules to administer 162
the license created in this subparagraph, to include rules 163
governing licensure, recordkeeping, and enforcement. The first 164
$300,000 in fees collected by the division each fiscal year 165
pursuant to this subparagraph shall be deposited in the 166
Department of Children and Families' Operations and Maintenance 167
Trust Fund to be used only for a lcohol and drug abuse education, 168
treatment, and prevention programs. The remainder of the fees 169
collected shall be deposited into the Hotel and Restaurant Trust 170
Fund created pursuant to s. 509.072; or 171
6. A culinary education program as defined in s. 172
381.0072(2) which is licensed as a public food service 173
establishment by the Division of Hotels and Restaurants. 174
a. This special license shall allow the sale and 175
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consumption of alcoholic beverages on the licensed premises of 176
the culinary education program. The culinary education program 177
shall specify designated areas in the facility where the 178
alcoholic beverages may be consumed at the time of application. 179
Alcoholic beverages sold for consumption on the premises may be 180
consumed only in areas designated under s. 561.01(11) and may 181
not be removed from the designated area. Such license shall be 182
applicable only in and for designated areas used by the culinary 183
education program. 184
b. If the culinary education program provides catering 185
services, this special license sh all also allow the sale and 186
consumption of alcoholic beverages on the premises of a catered 187
event at which the licensee is also providing prepared food. A 188
culinary education program that provides catering services is 189
not required to derive at least 51 perc ent of its gross revenue 190
from the sale of food and nonalcoholic beverages. 191
Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, a licensee that 192
provides catering services under this sub -subparagraph shall 193
prominently display its beverage license at any catered event a t 194
which the caterer is selling or serving alcoholic beverages. 195
Regardless of the county or counties in which the licensee 196
operates, a licensee under this sub -subparagraph shall pay the 197
annual state license tax set forth in s. 565.02(1)(b). A 198
licensee under this sub-subparagraph must maintain for a period 199
of 3 years all records required by the department by rule to 200
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demonstrate compliance with the requirements of this sub -201
subparagraph. 202
c. If a licensee under this subparagraph also possesses 203
any other license under the Beverage Law, the license issued 204
under this subparagraph does not authorize the holder to conduct 205
activities on the premises to which the other license or 206
licenses apply that would otherwise be prohibited by the terms 207
of that license or the Bev erage Law. This subparagraph does not 208
permit the licensee to conduct activities that are otherwise 209
prohibited by the Beverage Law or local law. Any culinary 210
education program that holds a license to sell alcoholic 211
beverages shall comply with the age requir ements set forth in 212
ss. 562.11(4), 562.111(2), and 562.13. 213
d. The Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco may 214
adopt rules to administer the license created in this 215
subparagraph, to include rules governing licensure, 216
recordkeeping, and enforcement. 217
e. A license issued pursuant to this subparagraph does not 218
permit the licensee to sell alcoholic beverages by the package 219
for off-premises consumption. 220
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However, any license heretofore issued to any such hotel, motel, 222
motor court, or restaurant or hereaft er issued to any such 223
hotel, motel, or motor court, including a condominium 224
accommodation, under the general law may not be moved to a new 225
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location, such license being valid only on the premises of such 226
hotel, motel, motor court, or restaurant. Licenses is sued to 227
hotels, motels, motor courts, or restaurants under the general 228
law and held by such hotels, motels, motor courts, or 229
restaurants on May 24, 1947, shall be counted in the quota 230
limitation contained in subsection (1). Any license issued for 231
any hotel, motel, or motor court under this law shall be issued 232
only to the owner of the hotel, motel, or motor court or, in the 233
event the hotel, motel, or motor court is leased, to the lessee 234
of the hotel, motel, or motor court; and the license shall 235
remain in the name of the owner or lessee so long as the license 236
is in existence. Any special license now in existence heretofore 237
issued under this law cannot be renewed except in the name of 238
the owner of the hotel, motel, motor court, or restaurant or, in 239
the event the hotel, motel, motor court, or restaurant is 240
leased, in the name of the lessee of the hotel, motel, motor 241
court, or restaurant in which the license is located and must 242
remain in the name of the owner or lessee so long as the license 243
is in existence. Any l icense issued under this section shall be 244
marked "Special," and nothing herein provided shall limit, 245
restrict, or prevent the issuance of a special license for any 246
restaurant or motel which shall hereafter meet the requirements 247
of the law existing immediat ely before the effective date of 248
this act, if construction of such restaurant has commenced 249
before the effective date of this act and is completed within 30 250
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days thereafter, or if an application is on file for such 251
special license at the time this act take s effect; and any such 252
licenses issued under this proviso may be annually renewed as 253
now provided by law. Nothing herein prevents an application for 254
transfer of a license to a bona fide purchaser of any hotel, 255
motel, motor court, or restaurant by the purch aser of such 256
facility or the transfer of such license pursuant to law. 257
Section 2. This act shall take effect May 1, 2022. 258