ENROLLED
2020 Second Extraordinary Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 17
BY REPRESENTATIVES ECHOLS AND THOMPSON
A RESOLUTION
To urge and request the Louisiana Department of Health and the office of alcohol and
tobacco control in the Department of Revenue to grant each bar and restaurant owner
and in-state manufacturer a permit extension, at no cost to the owner or
manufacturer, for a period equal in duration to the total time that the declared state
of public health emergency for COVID-19 is in effect.
WHEREAS, on March 11, 2020, Governor John Bel Edwards issued Proclamation
Number 25 JBE 2020 to declare a statewide public health emergency due to the imminent
threat posed to Louisiana by COVID-19; and
WHEREAS, R.S. 40:4(A)(1)(c)(i) provides that, in order to protect the public health,
the state health officer of the Louisiana Department of Health shall promulgate rules and
regulations relative to retail food establishments; and
WHEREAS, these rules and regulations comprise a segment of the state sanitary
code, LAC 51:XXIII.101 et seq., and provide that such food establishments include
restaurants, cafeterias, caterers, delicatessens, bars, lounges, and any other facilities that
prepare food for individual service or for a group of people; the rules and regulations also
require certain permits for such establishments; and
WHEREAS, R.S. 40:31.37 requires the Louisiana Department of Health to charge
a fee for each permit issued to a food establishment in accordance with the state sanitary
code; and
WHEREAS, R.S. 26:71 provides that, before engaging in the business of
manufacturing, supplying, or dealing in alcoholic beverages, all persons shall obtain from
the commissioner of alcohol and tobacco control a permit to conduct each separate business
and shall pay the commissioner a fee not to exceed the amounts provided by law; and
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WHEREAS, R.S. 26:792 authorizes the commissioner of alcohol and tobacco control
to issue and renew permits required by law for persons engaging in the business of dealing
in beverages of high and low alcoholic content, provided that no wholesale permit shall be
issued or renewed without the applicant's first furnishing evidence to the commissioner that
the bond required under R.S. 26:348 has been secured.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
Legislature of Louisiana does hereby urge and request the Louisiana Department of Health
and the office of alcohol and tobacco control in the Department of Revenue to grant each bar
and restaurant owner and in-state manufacturer a permit extension, at no cost to the owner
or manufacturer, for their establishment for a period equal in duration to the total time that
the declared state of public health emergency for COVID-19 is in effect.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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