By: Watson S.B. No. 371
(Cyrier)
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the grounds for refusal, cancellation, or suspension of
certain alcoholic beverage licenses.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 5.61(b), Alcoholic Beverage Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) The report must specify the number of individuals or
establishments found to be:
(1) engaging in an activity for which a permit or
license is required by this code without the required permit or
license;
(2) selling, serving, or offering for sale an
alcoholic beverage during prohibited hours in violation of Chapter
105 or Section 11.61(b)(23), 32.17(a)(7), or 61.71(a)(7);
(3) consuming or permitting consumption of an
alcoholic beverage on a permitted or licensed premises during
prohibited hours in violation of Chapter 105 or Section
11.61(b)(22), 32.17(a)(7), or 61.71(a)(17) [61.71(a)(18)]; or
(4) violating Section 11.61(b)(2), 32.17(a)(2),
32.17(a)(3), 61.71(a)(13) [61.71(a)(14)], or 101.04 by:
(A) refusing to allow entry to a permitted or
licensed premises by an inspector, investigator, or law enforcement
official;
(B) refusing to furnish information to an
inspector, investigator, or law enforcement official; or
(C) interfering with or refusing to permit an
inspection or investigation being conducted by an inspector,
investigator, or law enforcement official.
SECTION 2. Section 11.49(b)(2), Alcoholic Beverage Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(2) If such a designation has been made and approved as
to the holder of a license or permit authorizing the sale of
alcoholic beverages at retail or as to a private club registration
permit, the sharing of space, employees, business facilities, and
services with another business entity (including the permittee's
lessor, which, if a corporation, may be a domestic or foreign
corporation, but excluding a business entity holding any type of
winery permit, a manufacturer's license, or a general, local, or
branch distributor's license), does not constitute a subterfuge or
surrender of exclusive control in violation of Section 109.53 [of
this code] or the use or display of the license for the benefit of
another in violation of Section 61.71(a)(14) [Subdivision (15) of
Subsection (a) of Section 61.71 of this code]. This subsection
shall not apply to original or renewal package store permits, wine
only package store permits, local distributor's permits, or any
type of wholesaler's permits.
SECTION 3. Section 61.43, Alcoholic Beverage Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 61.43. DISCRETIONARY GROUNDS FOR REFUSAL: DISTRIBUTOR
OR RETAILER. [(a)] The county judge may refuse to approve an
application for a license as a distributor or retailer if the county
judge has reasonable grounds to believe and finds that:
(1) the applicant has been finally convicted in a
court of competent jurisdiction for the violation of a provision of
this code during the two years immediately preceding the filing of
an application;
(2) five years has not elapsed since the termination,
by pardon or otherwise, of a sentence imposed for conviction of a
felony;
(3) the applicant has violated or caused to be
violated a provision of this code or a rule or regulation of the
commission, for which a suspension was not imposed, during the
12-month period immediately preceding the filing of an application;
(4) the applicant failed to answer or falsely or
incorrectly answered a question in an original or renewal
application;
(5) the applicant for a retail dealer's license does
not have an adequate building available at the address for which the
license is sought before conducting any activity authorized by the
license;
(6) the applicant or a person with whom the applicant
is residentially domiciled had an interest in a license or permit
which was cancelled or revoked within the 12-month period
immediately preceding the filing of an application;
(7) the applicant failed or refused to furnish a true
copy of the application to the commission's district office in the
district in which the premises sought to be licensed are located;
(8) [the premises on which beer is to be sold for
on-premises consumption does not have:
[(A) running water, if it is available; or
[(B) separate free toilets for males and females,
properly identified, on the premises for which the license is
sought or, if the premises is a restaurant that derives less than 50
percent of its gross revenue from the sale of alcohol, is 2,500
square feet or less, and has an occupancy rating of 50 persons or
less, at least one toilet, properly identified, on the premises for
which the license is sought;
[(9)] the applicant for a retail dealer's license will
conduct business in a manner contrary to law or in a place or manner
conducive to a violation of the law; or
(9) [(10)] the place, building, or premises for which
the license is sought was used for selling alcoholic beverages in
violation of the law at any time during the six months immediately
preceding the filing of the application or was used, operated, or
frequented during that time for a purpose or in a manner which was
lewd, immoral, offensive to public decency, or contrary to this
code.
[(b) Subsection (a)(8) does not apply to an application
under this section if the premises for which the application is
submitted is part of a larger business complex with multiple tenant
or commercial spaces, including a mall, that is open to the public
and that offers the facilities required by Subsection (a)(8).]
SECTION 4. Sections 61.71(a), (b), and (d), Alcoholic
Beverage Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) The commission or administrator may suspend for not more
than 60 days or cancel an original or renewal retail dealer's on- or
off-premise license if it is found, after notice and hearing, that
the licensee:
(1) violated a provision of this code or a rule of the
commission during the existence of the license sought to be
cancelled or suspended or during the immediately preceding license
period;
(2) was finally convicted for violating a penal
provision of this code;
(3) was finally convicted of a felony while holding an
original or renewal license;
(4) made a false statement or a misrepresentation in
the licensee's [his] original application or a renewal application;
(5) with criminal negligence sold, served, or
delivered an alcoholic beverage to a minor;
(6) sold, served, or delivered an alcoholic beverage
to an intoxicated person;
(7) sold, served, or delivered an alcoholic beverage
at a time when its sale is prohibited;
(8) entered or offered to enter an agreement,
condition, or system which would constitute the sale or possession
of alcoholic beverages on consignment;
(9) possessed on the licensed premises, or on adjacent
premises directly or indirectly under the licensee's [his] control,
an alcoholic beverage not authorized to be sold on the licensed
premises, or permitted an agent, servant, or employee to do so,
except as permitted by Section 22.06, 24.05, or 102.05 [of this
code];
(10) [does not have at his licensed premises:
[(A) running water, if it is available; and
[(B) separate toilets for both sexes which are
properly identified, or, if the premises is a restaurant that
derives less than 50 percent of its gross revenue from the sale of
alcohol, is 2,500 square feet or less, and has an occupancy rating
of 50 persons or less, at least one toilet that is properly
identified;
[(11)] permitted a person on the licensed premises to
engage in conduct which is lewd, immoral, or offensive to public
decency;
(11) [(12)] employed a person under 18 years of age to
sell, handle, or dispense beer, or to assist in doing so, in an
establishment where beer is sold for on-premises consumption;
(12) [(13)] conspired with a person to violate Section
101.41-101.43, 101.68, 102.11-102.15, 104.04, 108.01, or
108.04-108.06 [of this code], or a rule promulgated under Section
5.40 [of this code], or accepted a benefit from an act prohibited by
any of these sections or rules;
(13) [(14)] refused to permit or interfered with an
inspection of the licensed premises by an authorized representative
of the commission or a peace officer;
(14) [(15)] permitted the use or display of the
licensee's [his] license in the conduct of a business for the
benefit of a person not authorized by law to have an interest in the
license;
(15) [(16)] maintained blinds or barriers at the
licensee's [his] place of business in violation of this code;
(16) [(17)] conducted the licensee's [his] business in
a place or manner which warrants the cancellation or suspension of
the license based on the general welfare, health, peace, morals,
safety, and sense of decency of the people;
(17) [(18)] consumed an alcoholic beverage or
permitted one to be consumed on the licensed premises at a time when
the consumption of alcoholic beverages is prohibited by this code;
(18) [(19)] purchased beer for the purpose of resale
from a person other than the holder of a manufacturer's or
distributor's license;
(19) [(20)] acquired an alcoholic beverage for the
purpose of resale from another retail dealer of alcoholic
beverages;
(20) [(21)] owned an interest of any kind in the
business or premises of the holder of a distributor's license;
(21) [(22)] purchased, sold, offered for sale,
distributed, or delivered an alcoholic beverage, or consumed an
alcoholic beverage or permitted one to be consumed on the licensed
premises while the licensee's [his] license was under suspension;
(22) [(23)] purchased, possessed, stored, sold, or
offered for sale beer in or from an original package bearing a brand
or trade name of a manufacturer other than the brand or trade name
shown on the container;
(23) [(24)] habitually uses alcoholic beverages to
excess, is mentally incompetent, or is physically unable to manage
the licensee's [his] establishment;
(24) [(25)] imported beer into this state except as
authorized by Section 107.07 [of this code];
(25) [(26)] occupied premises in which the holder of a
manufacturer's or distributor's license had an interest of any
kind;
(26) [(27)] knowingly permitted a person who had an
interest in a permit or license which was cancelled for cause to
sell, handle, or assist in selling or handling alcoholic beverages
on the licensed premises within one year after the cancellation;
(27) [(28)] was financially interested in a place of
business engaged in the selling of distilled spirits or permitted a
person having an interest in that type of business to have a
financial interest in the business authorized by the licensee's
[his] license, except as permitted by Section 22.06, 24.05, or
102.05 [of this code];
(28) [(29)] is residentially domiciled with or
related to a person engaged in selling distilled spirits, except as
permitted by Section 22.06, 24.05, or 102.05 [of this code], so that
there is a community of interests which the commission or
administrator finds contrary to the purposes of this code;
(29) [(30)] is residentially domiciled with or
related to a person whose license has been cancelled within the
preceding 12 months so that there is a community of interests which
the commission or administrator finds contrary to the purposes of
this code; or
(30) [(31)] failed to promptly report to the
commission a breach of the peace occurring on the licensee's
licensed premises.
(b) Subdivisions (9), (27), (28), and (29)[, and (30)] of
Subsection (a) [of this section] do not apply to a licensee whose
business is located in a hotel in which an establishment authorized
to sell distilled spirits in unbroken packages is also located if
the licensed premises of the businesses do not coincide or overlap.
(d) The grounds set forth in Subdivisions (1), (4)-(13)
[(4)-(14)], (15) [(16)], (17), (18), (20), (22) [(19), (21), (23)],
and (25) [(26),] of Subsection (a) [of this section,] also apply to
an agent, servant, or employee of the licensee.
SECTION 5. Section 109.59(d), Alcoholic Beverage Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(d) Subsection (a) does not apply to the satisfaction of the
distance requirement prescribed by Section 109.33(a)(2) for a
public school if the holder's permit or license has been suspended
for a violation occurring after September 1, 1995, of any of the
following provisions:
(1) Section 11.61(b)(1), (6)-(11), (13), (14), or
(20); or
(2) Section 61.71(a)(5)-(8), (10), (11), (13), (16)
[(12), (14)], (17), (21) [(18), (22)], or (23) [(24)].
SECTION 6. Section 61.43, Alcoholic Beverage Code, as
amended by this Act, applies only to an application for an alcoholic
beverage permit or license filed on or after the effective date of
this Act or pending on the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.