H.B. No. 671
AN ACT
relating to the requirements for certain alcoholic beverage
licenses.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 61.43(a), Alcoholic Beverage Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(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) two 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) [does not have] 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
(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.
SECTION 2. 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
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 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;
(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 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 his place of
business in violation of this code;
(17) conducted 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 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, 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 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 3. (a) Section 61.43(a), Alcoholic Beverage Code,
as amended by this Act, applies only to a county judge's decision
regarding an application for a license as a distributor or retailer
that is made on or after the effective date of this Act. A decision
made 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.
(b) Section 61.71(a), Alcoholic Beverage Code, as amended
by this Act, applies only to a suspension or cancellation of a
retail dealer's on- or off-premise license on or after the
effective date of this Act. A suspension or cancellation of a
license 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 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2003.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 671 was passed by the House on April
3, 2003, by the following vote: Yeas 141, Nays 0, 2 present, not
voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 671 was passed by the Senate on May
20, 2003, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: _____________________
Date
_____________________
Governor