BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 2910

By: Kuempel

Licensing & Administrative Procedures

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Under current law, liquor stores in Texas are authorized to sell liquor on the days they are open until 9 p.m., but there is no mechanism to complete sales to customers who are in the store before 9 p.m. and have yet to complete their purchase. Interested parties note that there is an informal policy of allowing customers who are already in the store before closing to complete their purchase. H.B. 2910 seeks to formalize this policy by allowing customers who are already in a liquor store at 9 p.m. to have reasonable time to complete a purchase.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

H.B. 2910 amends the Alcoholic Beverage Code to authorize the holder of a package store permit to allow a customer who has entered the package store during hours in which the package store is authorized to sell alcohol and who is still in the store at the time the hours of legal sale end to remain in the store for a reasonable amount of time to finish shopping.  The bill authorizes the permit holder to sell an alcoholic beverage to that customer despite the fact that the sale occurs after the designated end of the hours of legal sale.

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2013.