83R2784 AJA-D
By: Birdwell S.B. No. 596
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the application process for certain alcoholic beverage
permits and licenses and the provision of alcoholic beverages on
certain premises.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 5.43, Alcoholic Beverage Code, is
amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (c) and
(d) to read as follows:
(a) Except [as provided by Subsection (b)] for a hearing
held under Section 61.32 [of this code], a hearing on the adoption
of commission rules, or a hearing on an employment matter, and
subject to Subsection (c), the commission designates the State
Office of Administrative Hearings to conduct and make a record of
any hearing authorized by this code. If the commission or
administrator declares a hearing to be an emergency, the State
Office of Administrative Hearings shall assign an administrative
law judge or may contract with a qualified individual within five
days and set a hearing as soon as possible.
(c) A hearing under this code that relates to an application
for an original mixed beverage permit and that would otherwise be
conducted by the State Office of Administrative Hearings shall be
conducted by the appropriate county judge in the manner provided by
Subchapter B, Chapter 61, for an application for an original
alcoholic beverage license or permit if, before the date a hearing
on the application is scheduled to begin, a person protesting the
issuance of the permit on the basis of a ground for refusal provided
by Section 11.46(a)(6), (8), or (15) makes a written request to the
commission that the hearing on the application be conducted by the
county judge.
(d) For the purposes of a hearing conducted by a county
judge under Subsection (c):
(1) a county judge authorized to appoint a master
under Section 61.311 may appoint a master to hear the application in
accordance with that section; and
(2) a county judge may delegate the duty to hear an
application under Subsection (c) in the manner provided by Section
61.312 for delegation of the duty to hear a license application.
SECTION 2. Chapter 6, Alcoholic Beverage Code, is amended
by adding Section 6.06 to read as follows:
Sec. 6.06. PROVISION OF ALCOHOL ON CERTAIN PREMISES
PROHIBITED. An alcoholic beverage may not be provided to the public
free of charge on the premises of a commercial establishment not
licensed or permitted under this code if the owner or operator of
the establishment:
(1) is ineligible for a permit or license under this
code; or
(2) has been denied a permit or license for the
premises under this code.
SECTION 3. Subchapter A, Chapter 11, Alcoholic Beverage
Code, is amended by adding Section 11.14 to read as follows:
Sec. 11.14. APPLICATION FOR PERMIT OR LICENSE AFTER CERTAIN
DENIALS. A person whose application for an original permit or
license has been denied on grounds described by Section
11.46(a)(6), (8), or (15), Section 61.42(a)(3) or (7), or Section
61.43(a)(10), as that section relates to a purpose or manner that is
lewd, immoral, or offensive to public decency, may not:
(1) make a subsequent application for an original
permit or license under this code before the 31st day after the date
of the denial or, if the denial is appealed, the date on which the
appeal is final; or
(2) be granted an original permit or license under a
subsequent application unless the person shows that material
changes to previous conditions have taken place such that the
conditions or events on which the grounds for denial were based are
cured or can reasonably be expected not to reoccur.
SECTION 4. The heading to Section 11.67, Alcoholic Beverage
Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 11.67. APPEAL [FROM CANCELLATION, SUSPENSION, OR
REFUSAL OF LICENSE OR PERMIT].
SECTION 5. Section 11.67, Alcoholic Beverage Code, is
amended by adding Subsection (a-1) and amending Subsection (d) to
read as follows:
(a-1) An appeal of a decision of a county judge or an order
of the commission or administrator granting an original alcoholic
beverage permit or license may be taken by a person on record as
protesting the issuance of the permit or license at a hearing on the
application based on a ground described by Section 11.46(a)(6),
(8), or (15), Section 61.42(a)(3) or (7), or Section 61.43(a)(10),
as that section relates to a purpose or manner that is lewd,
immoral, or offensive to public decency. An appeal under this
subsection may be taken to the district court of the county in which
the applicant resides or in which the owner of involved real or
personal property resides or the county where the application was
made.
(d) If the appeal is from an order refusing the issuance or
renewal of a permit or license for a business that is sexually
oriented, any person may appear on appeal against the issuance or
renewal of the license or permit. A person who protested an
application for an original license or permit on a ground described
by Subsection (a-1) may appear on appeal against the issuance of the
license or permit. However, the court may grant a motion to strike
the [person's] appearance of a person under this subsection on a
showing that the person does not have a justiciable or
administratively cognizable interest in the proceeding.
SECTION 6. The heading to Section 61.34, Alcoholic Beverage
Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 61.34. APPEAL [FROM DENIAL].
SECTION 7. Section 61.34(a), Alcoholic Beverage Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) An applicant or a person who protests an application for
an original license on a ground described by Section 11.67(a-1) may
appeal the decision of [If] the county judge, commission, or
administrator on the [denies an] application on or before the 30th
day after[, the applicant may appeal within 30 days from] the date
the decision [order] becomes final and appealable to the district
court of the county where the application was made. The appeal is
governed by Section 11.67 [of this code], and the court may hear the
appeal in termtime or vacation.
SECTION 8. Subchapter A, Chapter 61, Alcoholic Beverage
Code, is amended by adding Section 61.16 to read as follows:
Sec. 61.16. APPLICATION FOR LICENSE AFTER CERTAIN DENIALS.
Section 11.14 applies to an application for an original license
under this subtitle.
SECTION 9. Sections 5.43, 11.67, and 61.34, Alcoholic
Beverage Code, as amended by this Act, and Sections 11.14 and 61.16,
Alcoholic Beverage Code, as added by this Act, apply only to an
application for an original permit or license filed on or after the
effective date of this Act. An application filed before the
effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect
immediately before that date, and that law is continued in effect
for that purpose.
SECTION 10. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.