By: Patterson H.B. No. 3339
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the sale and regulation of alcoholic beverages by
certain retailers.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. The Alcoholic Beverage Code is amended by adding
Chapter 27 as follows:
Sec. 27.01. AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES. The holder of a liquor
and malt beverage retailer's permit may:
(1) purchase liquor in this state from the holder of a
winery, wholesaler's, or class B wholesaler's permit;
(2) purchase malt beverages in this state from the
holder of a general or branch distributor's license;
(3) sell liquor and malt beverages in unbroken
original containers on or from the holder's licensed premises at
retail to consumers for off-premises consumption only and not for
the purpose of resale;
(4) sell vinous liquors in original containers of not
less than six ounces; and
(5) sell wine and malt liquors on the permitted
premises in a separate location from liquor, in the same manner
provided in Section 105.05.
Sec. 27.03. DELIVERIES TO CUSTOMERS. (a) The holder of a
liquor and malt beverage retailer's permit issued for a location
within a city or town or within two miles of the corporate limits of
a city or town may make deliveries of and collections for alcoholic
beverages off the premises in areas where the sale of the beverages
is legal. The permittee must travel by the most direct route and may
make deliveries and collections only within the county or the city
or town or within two miles of its corporate limits, and only in
response to bona fide orders placed by the customer, either in
person at the premises, in writing, by mail, or by telegraph or
telephone. This section shall not be construed as preventing a
holder of a liquor and malt beverage retailer's permit from
delivering alcoholic beverages to the holder of a carrier's permit
for transportation to persons who have placed bona fide orders and
who are located in an area that the holder of a liquor and malt
beverage retailer's permit is authorized to directly deliver to
under this section. The holder of a liquor and malt beverage
retailer's permit may also deliver alcoholic beverages to the
holder of a carrier's permit for transportation outside of this
state in response to bona fide orders placed by persons authorized
to purchase the beverages.
Sec. 27.04. LIMITATION ON PERMITTED STORE INTERESTS. (a) A
person may not hold or have an interest, directly or indirectly, in
more than 250 liquor and malt beverage retailer's permitted stores
or in their business or permit.
(b) For the purpose of this section:
(1) a person has an interest in any permit in which his
spouse has an interest; and
(2) as to a corporate permittee, the stockholders,
managers, officers, agents, servants, and employees of the
corporation have an interest in the permit, business, and stores of
the corporation.
(c) Except as provided by Sections 22.041 and 22.042, the
commission may not issue more than 15 original liquor and malt
beverage retailer's permits to a person in a calendar year.
Sec. 27.041. ACQUISITION OF EXISTING PERMIT. (a) The
commission may issue an original liquor and malt beverage
retailer's permit to a person for an existing liquor and malt
beverage retailer's permit business if:
(1) the person acquired by purchase or otherwise the
existing liquor and malt beverage retailer's permit business, or
other permit type which may be reclassified to a liquor and malt
beverage retailer's permit; and
(2) the existing liquor and malt beverage retailer's
permit business has been operating in the same county for more than
one year before the date the person acquired the liquor and malt
beverage retailer's permitted business, regardless of which
license type it has previously operated under.
(b) A liquor and malt beverage retailer's permit issued
under this section is not subject to the permit limit under Section
27.04(c).
Sec. 27.042. RECLASSIFICATION OF EXISTING PERMITS. (a)
Subject to Section 27.04(a), an existing permit holder of a
(1) Wine and Malt Beverage Retailer's Permit
(2) Wine and Malt Beverage Retailer's Off-Premise
Permit, or
(3) Wine Only Package Store Permit
may reclassify their existing permit to a liquor and malt beverage
retailer's permit.
(b) A Permit issued under this section is not subject to the
permit limit under Section 27.04(c).
Sec. 27.05. TRANSFER OF PERMITS. The holder of a liquor and
malt beverage retailer's permit may not transfer the permit to
another county.
Sec. 27.06. PROHIBITED INTERESTS. (a) No person who holds
a liquor and malt beverage retailer's permit or owns an interest in
a liquor and malt beverage retailer's permitted store may have a
direct or indirect interest in any of the following:
(1) a brewer's, retail dealer's on-premise, or general
or branch distributor's license;
(2) a local distributors permit or package store
permit; or
(3) the business of any of the permits or licenses
listed in Subdivisions (1) and (2) of this subsection.
Sec. 27.08. TRANSFER OF BEVERAGES. (a) The owner of more
than one liquor and malt beverage retailer's permitted store may
transfer alcoholic beverages between any of the owner's licensed
premises in the same county between the hours of 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. on
any day when the sale of those beverages is legal, subject to rules
prescribed by the commission.
(b) The holder of a liquor and malt beverage retailer's
permit may not transport alcoholic beverages under Subsection (a)
unless:
(1) the permit holder provides the commission with a
description, as required by the commission, of each motor vehicle
used by the permit holder to transport alcoholic beverages; and
(2) each motor vehicle is plainly marked or lettered
to indicate that it is being used by the permit holder to transport
alcoholic beverages.
(c) When transporting alcoholic beverages under this
section, the holder of a liquor and malt beverage retailer's permit
may not violate the motor carrier laws of this state.
Sec. 27.10. OPENING CONTAINERS PROHIBITED. Except as
authorized under Section 14.07, 22.18, or 37.01(d), a person may
not break or open a container containing liquor or a malt beverage
or possess an opened container of liquor or a malt beverage on the
premises of a liquor and malt beverage retailer's permitted store.
Sec. 27.11. CONSUMPTION ON PREMISES PROHIBITED. Except as
authorized under Section 14.07, 27.18, or 37.01(d), a person may
not sell, barter, exchange, deliver, or give away any drink or
drinks of alcoholic beverages from a container that has been opened
or broken on the premises of a liquor and malt beverage retailer's
permitted store.
Sec. 27.12. BREACH OF PEACE. The commission or
administrator may suspend or cancel a liquor and malt beverage
retailer's permit after giving the permittee notice and the
opportunity to show compliance with all requirements of law for the
retention of the permit if it finds that a breach of the peace has
occurred on the licensed premises or on premises under the control
of the permittee and that the breach of the peace was not beyond the
control of the permittee and resulted from his improper supervision
of persons permitted to be on the licensed premises or on premises
under his control.
Sec. 27.13. AGE OF EMPLOYEES. (a) A liquor and malt
beverage retailer's permitee may not knowingly utilize or employ
any person under the age of 21 to work on the premises of a liquor
and malt beverage retailer's permitted store, in the separate
premises selling liquor, any capacity or to deliver liquor off the
premises of liquor and malt beverage retailer's permitted store.
(c) This section shall not apply to a person who is employed
by the person's parent or legal guardian to work in a liquor and
malt beverage retailer's permitted store that is owned by the
parent or legal guardian.
Sec. 27.14. SEPARATE PREMISES REQUIRED. (a) The premises
of a liquor and malt beverage retailer's permitted store shall be
completely separated from the premises of other businesses by a
solid, opaque wall from floor to ceiling, without connecting doors,
shared bathroom facilities, or shared entry foyers.
(b) A liquor and malt beverage retailer's permitted store
may have a separate space on the same premises in which it can sell
malt beverages and wine under the rules applicable to a Wine and
Malt Beverage Retailer's Permit or Wine and Malt Beverage
Retailer's Off-Premise Permit.
(c) The premises of a liquor and malt beverage retailer's
permitted store shall have a front door through which the public may
enter which opens onto a street, parking lot, public sidewalk, or
the public area of a mall or shopping center.
(d) The premises of a liquor and malt beverage retailer's
permitted store shall include:
(1) a rear or side entrance which opens onto a street,
parking lot, public sidewalk, or the public area or common area of a
mall or shopping center, which may be used for receipt and
processing of merchandise but which shall in any event serve as an
emergency exit from the premises; and
(2) a bathroom which complies with Title III of the
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended (42 U.S.C.
Section 12101 et seq.).
(e) The holder of a liquor and malt beverage retailer's
permit may sell nonalcoholic products and may conduct other lawful
business on the premises of a liquor and malt beverage retailer's
permitted store, but the premises containing liquor must be closed
to entry by the general public during all hours in which the sale of
liquor by a liquor and malt beverage retailer's permitted store is
prohibited by law. For purposes of this subsection, "the general
public" shall mean retail customers and shall not include vendors,
service personnel, and other persons entering the premises for
purposes other than the purchase of goods sold on the premises.
(f) A liquor and malt beverage retailer's permit may not be
issued to an applicant for a premises consisting of less than 75,000
square feet, inclusive of the separate liquor premises and the
other enclosed areas of the permitted premises.
Sec. 27.15. CONDUCTING SEPARATE BUSINESSES AS A COMMON
OPERATION. (a) No liquor and malt beverage retailer's permittee,
except for permittees wholly owned by the same persons, may conduct
business in a manner so as to directly or indirectly coordinate
operations with another liquor and malt beverage retailer's
permitted store as if they shared common ownership. For purposes of
this section, "coordinate operations as if they shared common
ownership" includes engaging in any of the following practices:
(1) cooperatively setting prices or credit policies or
allowing any third party to do so on their behalf;
(2) sharing advertising;
(3) utilizing the same trade name, trademark, or
slogan as another wine, malt beverage, and distilled spirits
permitee in the same county;
(4) sharing or utilizing the same bookkeeping or
computer-processing service, unless the bookkeeping or
computer-processing service is in the business of providing such
services to the general public;
(5) transferring funds, merchandise, or equipment
from one wine, malt beverage, and distilled spirits permitted
business to another;
(6) utilizing the same person as an employee or
independent contractor for two or more liquor and malt beverage
retailer's permitted store businesses in any capacity, unless, in
the case of an independent contractor, the independent contractor
is in the business of providing similar services to the general
public; and
(7) negotiating, or allowing a third party to
negotiate, quantity discounts for alcoholic beverages to be
purchased by the liquor and malt beverage retailer's permitted
store business utilizing the sales volume of another liquor and
malt beverage retailer's permitted store business to increase the
discount.
(b) The prohibition set forth in Subsection (a)(3)
regarding trade names, trademarks, and slogans shall not prevent
any liquor and malt beverage retailer's permittee business from
utilizing a trade name, trademark, or slogan which the business was
using on September 1, 2023.
(c) Before the commission may renew a liquor and malt
beverage retailer's permit, an individual who is an owner or
officer of the permittee must file with the commission a sworn
affidavit stating that the permittee fully complies with the
requirements of this section.
(d) Any liquor and malt beverage retailer's permittee who is
injured in his business or property by liquor and malt beverage
retailer's permittee by reason of anything prohibited in this
section may institute suit in any district court in the county where
the violation is alleged to have occurred to require enforcement by
injunctive procedures and to recover triple damages plus costs of
suit including reasonable attorney's fees.
Sec. 27.16. OWNERSHIP BY PUBLIC CORPORATIONS. (a) A liquor
and malt beverage retailer's permit may be owned or held by a public
corporation, or by any entity which is directly or indirectly owned
or controlled, in whole or in part, by a public corporation, or by
any entity which would hold the liquor and malt beverage retailer's
permit for the benefit of a public corporation.
Sec. 27.17. SALE TO CUSTOMER IN STORE AT CLOSING.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this code, if a customer has
entered a liquor and malt beverage retailer's permitted store
during hours in which the store may sell alcohol and is still in the
store at the time the hours of legal sale end, the permittee may
allow the customer to remain in the store for a reasonable amount of
time to finish shopping, and the permittee may sell an alcoholic
beverage to that customer even though the sale occurs after the
designated end of the hours of legal sale.
Sec. 27.18. TASTINGS. (a) The holder of a liquor and malt
beverage retailer's permit may conduct product tastings of
distilled spirits, wine, malt beverages, or spirit-based coolers on
the permitted premises during regular business hours as provided by
this section.
(b) Written notification of a product tasting must be posted
on the premises of the liquor and malt beverage retailer's
permitted store permit holder not later than 48 hours before the
tasting event. The notification shall clearly state:
(1) the type and brand of alcoholic beverage to be
tasted;
(2) the date and hours the tasting is to take place;
and
(3) the address of the premises where the tasting is to
occur.
(c) A copy of the notification shall be kept on file and
available for inspection on the premises during all tasting hours.
(d) Sample portions at a product tasting shall be limited to
not more than:
(1) one-half ounce for distilled spirits;
(2) one ounce for wine; and
(3) one ounce for malt beverages and coolers.
(e) Not more than 20 different products may be made
available for tasting at any one time.
(f) No charge of any sort may be made for a sample serving.
(g) A person may be served more than one sample. Samples may
not be served to a minor or to an obviously intoxicated person. A
sample may not be removed from the permitted premises.
(h) During the tasting, not more than two containers of each
brand or type of product being tasted may be open on the premises at
one time.
(i) At the conclusion of the tasting, all empty or open
containers of alcoholic beverages used in the tasting shall be
removed from the premises or stored in a locked, secure area on the
permitted premises.
(j) A tasting event authorized by this section may not be
advertised except by on-site communications, by direct mail, by
electronic mail, or on the permit holder's Internet website.
(k) Except as provided by Subsection (l) or elsewhere in
this code, a person other than the liquor and malt beverage
retailer's permittee or the permittee's agent or employee may not
dispense or participate in the dispensing of alcoholic beverages
under this section.
(l) The holder of a distiller's or rectifier's permit or
nonresident seller's permit or that permit holder's agent or
employee may participate in and conduct product tastings of
alcoholic beverages at a retailer's premises and may open, touch,
or pour alcoholic beverages, make a presentation, or answer
questions at the tasting. Any alcoholic beverage tasted under this
subsection must be purchased from the liquor and malt beverage
retailer's permit holder on whose premises the tasting is held. The
permit holder may not require the purchase of more alcoholic
beverages than are necessary for the tasting. This section does not
authorize the holder of a distiller's or rectifier's permit or
nonresident seller's permit or that permit holder's agent or
employee to withdraw or purchase an alcoholic beverage from the
holder of a wholesaler's permit or provide an alcoholic beverage
for tasting on a retailer's premises that is not purchased from the
retailer.
(m) For the purposes of this code and any other law or
ordinance, a liquor and malt beverage retailer's permit does not
authorize the sale of alcoholic beverages for on-premise
consumption within the portion of the premises selling liquor.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.