73R9173 MWV-D
By Van de Putte H.B. No. 1707
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 1707:
By Yarbrough C.S.H.B. No. 1707
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the use of video surveillance equipment and other
1-3 safety measures at certain retail establishments selling alcoholic
1-4 beverages.
1-5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-6 SECTION 1. Chapter 104, Alcoholic Beverage Code, is amended
1-7 by adding Sections 104.05 and 104.06 to read as follows:
1-8 Sec. 104.05. SURVEILLANCE EQUIPMENT. (a) For the purposes
1-9 of this section, "convenience store" means a retail establishment
1-10 that:
1-11 (1) is authorized to sell beer or wine at retail, for
1-12 off-premises consumption only;
1-13 (2) is open for business 24 hours a day one or more
1-14 days a week; and
1-15 (3) is not a hotel, motel, boardinghouse, retail
1-16 pharmacy, or other retail establishment whose gross sales of beer
1-17 and wine for off-premises consumption do not exceed 10 percent of
1-18 the total gross sales of the establishment during the previous
1-19 12-month period.
1-20 (b) A person who is authorized to sell beer or wine at a
1-21 convenience store shall install video surveillance equipment at the
1-22 retail establishment and operate the equipment continuously.
1-23 (c) A person who is subject to the requirements of this
1-24 section must present evidence of compliance with this section to
2-1 the satisfaction of the commission before a permit or license may
2-2 be issued or renewed under this code.
2-3 Sec. 104.06. AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE: EVIDENCE OF SAFETY
2-4 FEATURES. (a) It is an affirmative defense in a lawsuit involving
2-5 the issue of a convenience store's failure to provide adequate
2-6 safety measures for the store's customers and employees that all of
2-7 the following safety measures were in place at the convenience
2-8 store at the time of the incident that is the basis for the
2-9 lawsuit:
2-10 (1) signs posted in the windows of the convenience
2-11 store obstructed the view of the cash register and sales area from
2-12 the street;
2-13 (2) the sales area of the store was located to provide
2-14 full visibility of the clerk and customer during the sales
2-15 transaction;
2-16 (3) a conspicuous sign was posted in the store's
2-17 window stating that the cash register contains less than $50;
2-18 (4) the cash available and readily accessible to an
2-19 employee of the store was not more than $50;
2-20 (5) a drop-safe or time release safe was maintained at
2-21 the convenience store and was bolted to the floor, installed in the
2-22 floor, or weighed 500 pounds or more;
2-23 (6) a conspicuous sign was posted in the window of the
2-24 convenience store stating that there was a safe in the convenience
2-25 store and that the safe was not accessible to the store's
2-26 employees; and
2-27 (7) the entire area of the convenience store parking
3-1 lot used by the store's customers was maintained and lighted at
3-2 five footcandles per square foot measured at the surface of the
3-3 parking area.
3-4 (b) In this section, "convenience store" has the meaning
3-5 assigned to that term by Section 104.05 of this code.
3-6 SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only
3-7 to a permit or license that is issued or renewed on or after the
3-8 effective date of this Act.
3-9 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect January 1, 1994.
3-10 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
3-11 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
3-12 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
3-13 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
3-14 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.