PRINTER'S NO. 3399
No. 2483 Session of 2000
INTRODUCED BY DONATUCCI, MYERS, LEDERER, BEBKO-JONES, LUCYK,
BISHOP, ROEBUCK, PISTELLA, PRESTON, TRELLO, WATERS, JAMES,
YOUNGBLOOD, CURRY, WILLIAMS, ARMSTRONG, MUNDY, WASHINGTON AND
M. COHEN, APRIL 19, 2000
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON LIQUOR CONTROL, APRIL 19, 2000
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of April 12, 1951 (P.L.90, No.21), entitled, as
2 reenacted, "An act relating to alcoholic liquors, alcohol and
3 malt and brewed beverages; amending, revising, consolidating
4 and changing the laws relating thereto; regulating and
5 restricting the manufacture, purchase, sale, possession,
6 consumption, importation, transportation, furnishing, holding
7 in bond, holding in storage, traffic in and use of alcoholic
8 liquors, alcohol and malt and brewed beverages and the
9 persons engaged or employed therein; defining the powers and
10 duties of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board; providing
11 for the establishment and operation of State liquor stores,
12 for the payment of certain license fees to the respective
13 municipalities and townships, for the abatement of certain
14 nuisances and, in certain cases, for search and seizure
15 without warrant; prescribing penalties and forfeitures;
16 providing for local option, and repealing existing laws,"
17 further providing for revocation and suspension of licenses.
18 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
19 hereby enacts as follows:
20 Section 1. Section 471(b) of the act of April 12, 1951
21 (P.L.90, No.21), known as the Liquor Code, reenacted and amended
22 June 29, 1987 (P.L.32, No.14) and amended December 21, 1998
23 (P.L.1202, No.155), is amended to read:
24 Section 471. Revocation and Suspension of Licenses; Fines.--
1 * * *
2 (b) Hearing on such citations shall be held in the same
3 manner as provided herein for hearings on applications for
4 license. Upon such hearing, if satisfied that any such violation
5 has occurred or for other sufficient cause, the administrative
6 law judge shall immediately suspend or revoke the license, or
7 impose a fine of not less than fifty dollars ($50) nor more than
8 one thousand dollars ($1,000), or both, notifying the licensee
9 by registered letter addressed to his licensed premises. If the
10 licensee has been cited and found to have violated section
11 493(1) insofar as it relates to sales to minors or sales to a
12 visibly intoxicated person, section 493(10) insofar as it
13 relates to lewd, immoral or improper entertainment or section
14 493(14), (16) or (21), or has been found to be a public nuisance
15 pursuant to section 611, or if the owner or operator of the
16 licensed premises or any authorized agent of the owner or
17 operator has been convicted of any violation of the act of April
18 14, 1972 (P.L.233, No.64), known as "The Controlled Substance,
19 Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act," or of 18 Pa.C.S. § 5902
20 (relating to prostitution and related offenses) or 6301
21 (relating to corruption of minors), at or relating to the
22 licensed premises, the administrative law judge shall
23 immediately suspend or revoke the license, or impose a fine of
24 not less than one thousand dollars ($1,000) nor more than five
25 thousand dollars ($5,000), or both. The administrative law judge
26 shall notify the licensee by registered mail, addressed to the
27 licensed premises, of such suspension, revocation or fine. In
28 the event the fine is not paid within twenty days of the
29 adjudication, the administrative law judge shall suspend or
30 revoke the license, notifying the licensee by registered mail
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1 addressed to the licensed premises. Suspensions and revocations
2 shall not go into effect until thirty days have elapsed from the
3 date of the adjudication during which time the licensee may take
4 an appeal as provided for in this act. Any licensee whose
5 license is revoked shall be ineligible to have a license under
6 this act until the expiration of three years from the date such
7 license was revoked. In the event a license is revoked, no
8 license shall be granted for the premises or transferred to the
9 premises in which the said license was conducted for a period of
10 at least one year after the date of the revocation of the
11 license conducted in the said premises, except in cases where
12 the licensee or a member of his immediate family is not the
13 owner of the premises, in which case the board may, in its
14 discretion, issue or transfer a license within the said year. In
15 the event the bureau or the person who was fined or whose
16 license was suspended or revoked shall feel aggrieved by the
17 adjudication of the administrative law judge, there shall be a
18 right to appeal to the board. The appeal shall be based solely
19 on the record before the administrative law judge. The board
20 shall affirm the decision of the administrative law judge if it
21 is based on substantial evidence; otherwise, the board shall
22 reverse the decision of the administrative law judge. In the
23 event the bureau or the person who was fined or whose license
24 was suspended or revoked shall feel aggrieved by the decision of
25 the board, there shall be a right to appeal to the court of
26 common pleas in the same manner as herein provided for appeals
27 from refusals to grant licenses. Each of the appeals shall act
28 as a supersedeas unless, upon sufficient cause shown, the
29 reviewing authority shall determine otherwise; however, if the
30 licensee has been cited and found to have violated section
20000H2483B3399 - 3 -
1 493(1) insofar as it relates to sales to minors or sales to a
2 visibly intoxicated person, section 493(10) insofar as it
3 relates to lewd, immoral or improper entertainment or section
4 493(14), (16) or (21), or has been found to be a public nuisance
5 pursuant to section 611, or if the owner or operator of the
6 licensed premises or any authorized agent of the owner or
7 operator has been convicted of any violation of "The Controlled
8 Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act," or of 18 Pa.C.S. §
9 5902 or 6301, at or relating to the licensed premises, its
10 appeal shall not act as a supersedeas unless the reviewing
11 authority determines otherwise upon sufficient cause shown. In
12 any hearing on an application for a supersedeas under this
13 section, the reviewing authority may consider, in addition to
14 other relevant evidence, documentary evidence, including records
15 of the bureau, showing the prior history of citations, fines,
16 suspensions or revocations against the licensee; and the
17 reviewing authority may also consider, in addition to other
18 relevant evidence, evidence of any recurrence of the unlawful
19 activity occurring between the date of the citation which is the
20 subject of the appeal and the date of the hearing. No penalty
21 provided by this section shall be imposed for any violations
22 provided for in this act unless the bureau notifies the licensee
23 of its nature within thirty days of the completion of the
24 investigation.
25 * * *
26 Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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