Bill Text: TX SB618 | 2015-2016 | 84th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating to grounds for refusal, cancellation, or suspension of certain alcoholic beverage licenses and permits.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-02-23 - Referred to Business & Commerce [SB618 Detail]

Download: Texas-2015-SB618-Introduced.html

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84R7265 AJA-D
By: Burton S.B. No. 618

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to grounds for refusal, cancellation, or suspension of
certain alcoholic beverage licenses and permits.
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)(21) [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)(20) [11.61(b)(22)], 32.17(a)(7), or 61.71(a)(18); or
(4) violating Section 11.61(b)(2), 32.17(a)(2),
32.17(a)(3), 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 11.46(a), Alcoholic Beverage Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) The commission or administrator may refuse to issue an
original or renewal permit with or without a hearing if it has
reasonable grounds to believe and finds that any of the following
circumstances exists:
(1) the applicant has been convicted in a court of
competent jurisdiction of the violation of any provision of this
code during the two years immediately preceding the filing of the
applicant's [his] application;
(2) five years have not elapsed since the termination,
by pardon or otherwise, of a sentence imposed on the applicant for
the conviction of a felony;
(3) within the six-month period immediately preceding
the applicant's [his] application the applicant violated or caused
to be violated a provision of this code or a rule or regulation of
the commission which involves moral turpitude, as distinguished
from a technical violation of this code or of the rule;
(4) the applicant failed to answer or falsely or
incorrectly answered a question in an original or renewal
application;
(5) the applicant is indebted to the state for any
taxes, fees, or payment of penalty imposed by this code or by rule
of the commission;
(6) [the applicant is not of good moral character or
his reputation for being a peaceable, law-abiding citizen in the
community where he resides is bad;
[(7)] the applicant is a minor;
(7) [(8)] the place or manner in which the applicant
may conduct the applicant's [his] business warrants the refusal of
a permit based on the general welfare, health, peace, morals, and
safety of the people and on the public sense of decency;
(8) [(9)] the applicant [is in the habit of using
alcoholic beverages to excess or] is [physically or] mentally
incompetent as determined by a court [incapacitated];
(9) [(10)] the applicant will sell liquor unlawfully
in a dry area or in a manner contrary to law or will knowingly permit
an agent, servant, or employee to do so;
(10) [(11)] the applicant is not a United States
citizen or has not been a citizen of Texas for a period of one year
immediately preceding the filing of the applicant's [his]
application, unless the applicant [he] was issued a permit or
renewal permit on or before September 1, 1948, and has at some time
been a United States citizen;
(11) [(12)] the applicant does not provide an adequate
building available at the address for which the permit is sought
before conducting any activity authorized by the permit;
(12) [(13)] the applicant is residentially domiciled
with a person whose permit or license has been cancelled for cause
within the 12 months immediately preceding the date of the
applicant's [his] present application;
(13) [(14)] the applicant has failed or refused to
furnish a true copy of the applicant's [his] application to the
commission's district office in the district in which the premises
for which the permit is sought are located; or
(14) [(15)] during the six months immediately
preceding the filing of the application the premises for which the
permit is sought have been operated, used, or frequented for a
purpose or in a manner that is lewd, immoral, or offensive to public
decency.
SECTION 3. Section 11.61(b), Alcoholic Beverage Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) The commission or administrator may suspend for not more
than 60 days or cancel an original or renewal permit if it is found,
after notice and hearing, that any of the following is true:
(1) the permittee has been finally convicted of a
violation of this code;
(2) the permittee violated a provision of this code or
a rule of the commission;
(3) the permittee was finally convicted of a felony
while holding an original or renewal permit;
(4) the permittee made a false or misleading statement
in connection with the permittee's [his] original or renewal
application, either in the formal application itself or in any
other written instrument relating to the application submitted to
the commission, its officers, or employees;
(5) the permittee is indebted to the state for taxes,
fees, or payment of penalties imposed by this code, by a rule of the
commission, or by Chapter 183, Tax Code;
(6) [the permittee is not of good moral character or
his reputation for being a peaceable and law-abiding citizen in the
community where he resides is bad;
[(7)] the place or manner in which the permittee
conducts the permittee's [his] business warrants the cancellation
or suspension of the permit based on the general welfare, health,
peace, morals, and safety of the people and on the public sense of
decency;
(7) [(8)] the permittee is not maintaining an
acceptable bond;
(8) [(9)] the permittee maintains a noisy, lewd,
disorderly, or unsanitary establishment or has supplied impure or
otherwise deleterious beverages;
(9) [(10)] the permittee is insolvent or is mentally
incompetent as determined by a court [or physically unable to carry
on the management of his establishment];
(10) [(11) the permittee is in the habit of using
alcoholic beverages to excess;
[(12)] the permittee knowingly misrepresented to a
customer or the public any liquor sold by the permittee [him];
(11) [(13)] the permittee was intoxicated on the
licensed premises;
(12) [(14)] the permittee sold or delivered an
alcoholic beverage to an intoxicated person;
(13) [(15)] the permittee possessed on the licensed
premises an alcoholic beverage that the permittee [he] was not
authorized by the permittee's [his] permit to purchase and sell;
(14) [(16)] a package store or wine only package store
permittee transported or shipped liquor, or caused it to be
transported or shipped, into a dry state or a dry area within this
state;
(15) [(17)] the permittee is residentially domiciled
with a person who has a financial interest in an establishment
engaged in the business of selling beer at retail, other than a
mixed beverage establishment, except as authorized by Section
22.06, 24.05, or 102.05 [of this code];
(16) [(18)] the permittee is residentially domiciled
with a person whose permit or license was cancelled for cause within
the 12-month period preceding the applicant's [his] own
application;
(17) [(19)] the permittee is not a citizen of the
United States or has not been a citizen of Texas for a period of one
year immediately preceding the filing of the permittee's [his]
application, unless the permittee [he] was issued an original or
renewal permit on or before September 1, 1948, and has been a United
States citizen at some time;
(18) [(20)] the permittee permitted a person to open a
container of alcoholic beverage or possess an open container of
alcoholic beverage on the licensed premises unless a mixed beverage
permit has been issued for the premises;
(19) [(21)] the permittee failed to promptly report to
the commission a breach of the peace occurring on the permittee's
licensed premises;
(20) [(22)] the permittee 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; or
(21) [(23)] the permittee sold, served, or delivered
an alcoholic beverage at a time when its sale is prohibited.
SECTION 4. Section 11.64(a), Alcoholic Beverage Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) When the commission or administrator is authorized to
suspend a permit or license under this code, the commission or
administrator shall give the permittee or licensee the opportunity
to pay a civil penalty rather than have the permit or license
suspended, unless the basis for the suspension is a violation of
Section 11.61(b)(12) [11.61(b)(14)], 22.12, 28.11, 32.17(a)(2),
32.17(a)(3), 61.71(a)(5), 61.71(a)(6), 61.74(a)(14), 69.13, 71.09,
101.04, 101.63, 106.03, 106.06, or 106.15, the sale or offer for
sale of an alcoholic beverage during hours prohibited by Chapter
105, consumption or the permitting of consumption of an alcoholic
beverage on the person's licensed or permitted premises during
hours prohibited by Chapter 105 or Section 32.17(a)(7), or an
offense relating to prostitution, trafficking of persons, or
gambling, in which case the commission or administrator shall
determine whether the permittee or licensee may have the
opportunity to pay a civil penalty rather than have the permit or
license suspended. The commission shall adopt rules addressing
when suspension may be imposed pursuant to this section without the
opportunity to pay a civil penalty. In adopting rules under this
subsection, the commission shall consider the type of license or
permit held, the type of violation, any aggravating or ameliorating
circumstances concerning the violation, and any past violations of
this code by the permittee or licensee. In cases in which a civil
penalty is assessed, the commission or administrator shall
determine the amount of the penalty. The amount of the civil
penalty may not be less than $150 or more than $25,000 for each day
the permit or license was to have been suspended. If the licensee
or permittee does not pay the penalty before the sixth day after the
commission or administrator notifies the licensee or permittee
[him] of the amount, the commission or administrator shall impose
the suspension.
SECTION 5. Section 61.42(a), Alcoholic Beverage Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) The county judge shall refuse to approve an application
for a license as a distributor or retailer if the county judge [he]
has reasonable grounds to believe and finds that:
(1) the applicant is a minor;
(2) the applicant is indebted to the state for any
taxes, fees, or penalties imposed by this code or by rule of the
commission;
(3) the place or manner in which the applicant for a
retail dealer's license may conduct the applicant's [his] business
warrants a refusal of a license based on the general welfare,
health, peace, morals, safety, and sense of decency of the people;
(4) the applicant [is in the habit of using alcoholic
beverages to excess or] is mentally [or physically] incompetent as
determined by a court;
(5) the applicant is not a United States citizen or has
not been a citizen of Texas for a period of one year immediately
preceding the filing of the applicant's [his] application, unless
the applicant [he] was issued an original or renewal license on or
before September 1, 1948;
(6) the applicant was finally convicted of a felony
during the five years immediately preceding the filing of the
applicant's [his] application; or
(7) [the applicant is not of good moral character or
his reputation for being a peaceable, law-abiding citizen in the
community where he resides is bad; or
[(8)] as to a corporation, it is not incorporated
under the laws of this state, or at least 51 percent of the
corporate stock is not owned at all times by persons who
individually are qualified to obtain a license, except that this
subdivision does not apply to a holder of any renewal of a
distributor's license which was in effect on January 1, 1953, or to
an applicant for a beer retailer's on-premise license for a railway
car.
SECTION 6. Section 61.71(a), Alcoholic Beverage Code, is
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 the licensee's [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;
(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;
(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;
(14) refused to permit or interfered with an
inspection of the licensed premises by an authorized representative
of the commission or a peace officer;
(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;
(16) maintained blinds or barriers at the licensee's
[his] place of business in violation of this code;
(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;
(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;
(19) purchased beer for the purpose of resale from a
person other than the holder of a manufacturer's or distributor's
license;
(20) acquired an alcoholic beverage for the purpose of
resale from another retail dealer of alcoholic beverages;
(21) owned an interest of any kind in the business or
premises of the holder of a distributor's license;
(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;
(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;
(24) [habitually uses alcoholic beverages to excess,]
is mentally incompetent as determined by a court[, or is physically
unable to manage his establishment];
(25) imported beer into this state except as
authorized by Section 107.07 [of this code];
(26) occupied premises in which the holder of a
manufacturer's or distributor's license had an interest of any
kind;
(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;
(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];
(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;
(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
(31) failed to promptly report to the commission a
breach of the peace occurring on the licensee's licensed premises.
SECTION 7. Section 61.74(a), Alcoholic Beverage Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) The commission or administrator may suspend for not more
than 60 days or cancel an original or renewal general, local, or
branch distributor's 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) violated 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 or regulation promulgated under Section 5.40 [of this code];
(5) failed to comply with a requirement of the
commission relating to the keeping of records or making of reports;
(6) failed to pay any tax due the state on any beer the
licensee [he] sold, stored, or transported;
(7) refused to permit or interfered with an inspection
of the licensee's [his] licensed premises, vehicles, books, or
records by an authorized representative of the commission;
(8) consummated a sale of beer outside the county or
counties in which the licensee [he] was authorized to sell beer by
the licensee's [his] license;
(9) purchased, sold, offered for sale, distributed, or
delivered beer while the licensee's [his] license was under
suspension;
(10) permitted the use of the licensee's [his] license
in the operation of a business conducted for the benefit of a person
not authorized by law to have an interest in the business;
(11) made a false or misleading representation or
statement in the licensee's [his] original application or a renewal
application;
(12) [habitually uses alcoholic beverages to excess,]
is mentally incompetent as determined by a court[, or is physically
unable to manage his establishment];
(13) misrepresented any beer sold by the licensee
[him] to a retailer or to the public;
(14) with criminal negligence sold or delivered beer
to a minor; or
(15) purchased, possessed, stored, sold, or offered
for sale beer in an original package bearing a brand or trade name
of a manufacturer other than the brand or trade name of the
manufacturer shown on the container.
SECTION 8. 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), (7), (8), (9), (11),
(12), [(6)-(11), (13), (14),] or (18) [(20)]; or
(2) Section 61.71(a)(5)-(8), (11), (12), (14), (17),
(18), (22), or (24).
SECTION 9. Sections 11.46(a) and 61.42(a), Alcoholic
Beverage Code, as amended by this Act, apply 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 10. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.