Regular Session 2017-2018 House Bill 0513 P.N. 0537

PRINTER'S NO. 537

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HOUSE BILL

No.

513

Session of

2017

INTRODUCED BY BULLOCK, KINSEY, McCLINTON, MURT, J. HARRIS,

V. BROWN, NEILSON AND DONATUCCI, FEBRUARY 15, 2017

REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON LIQUOR CONTROL, FEBRUARY 15, 2017

AN ACT

Amending the act of April 12, 1951 (P.L.90, No.21), entitled, as

reenacted, "An act relating to alcoholic liquors, alcohol and

malt and brewed beverages; amending, revising, consolidating

and changing the laws relating thereto; regulating and

restricting the manufacture, purchase, sale, possession,

consumption, importation, transportation, furnishing, holding

in bond, holding in storage, traffic in and use of alcoholic

liquors, alcohol and malt and brewed beverages and the

persons engaged or employed therein; defining the powers and

duties of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board; providing

for the establishment and operation of State liquor stores,

for the payment of certain license fees to the respective

municipalities and townships, for the abatement of certain

nuisances and, in certain cases, for search and seizure

without warrant; prescribing penalties and forfeitures;

providing for local option, and repealing existing laws," in

preliminary provisions, further providing for definitions; in

Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board, further providing for

general powers of board; and, in licenses and regulations and

liquor, alcohol and malt and brewed beverages, further

providing for applications for hotel, restaurant and club

liquor licenses and for issuance, transfer or extension of

hotel, restaurant and club liquor licenses.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1. Section 102 of the act of April 12, 1951 (P.L.90,

No.21), known as the Liquor Code, is amended by adding a

definition to read:

Section 102. Definitions.--The following words or phrases,

unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, shall have the

meanings ascribed to them in this section:

* * *

"Elected official" shall mean an individual elected to a

State or local office and who represents an area in which an

establishment licensed under this act is located.

* * *

Section 2. Section 207 of the act is amended by adding a

subsection to read:

Section 207. General Powers of Board.--Under this act, the

board shall have the power and its duty shall be:

* * *

(o) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, to notify

each elected official by certified letter that an application

for a license in the area that the elected official represents

has been received. The notification under this subsection must

be made within fifteen days of receipt of the application for a

license.

Section 3. Section 403(g) of the act is amended to read:

Section 403. Applications for Hotel, Restaurant and Club

Liquor Licenses.--* * *

(g) Every applicant for a new license or for the transfer of

an existing license shall post, for a period of at least thirty

days beginning with the day the application is filed with the

board, in a conspicuous place on the outside of the premises or

at the proposed new location for which the license is applied, a

notice of such application. If the applicant is seeking the

transfer of a license in which the previous license has not been

renewed, or as a result of provisions of a conditional license,

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the previous licensee was required to transfer the license,

pursuant to section 404(a)(3), the applicant shall post such

notice for a period of at least forty-five days. The notice

shall indicate whether the applicant is applying for the

amusement permit required by section 493(10). The notice shall

be in such form, be of such size, and contain such provisions as

the board may require by its regulations. Proof of the posting

of such notice shall be filed with the board. The posting

requirement imposed by this subsection shall not apply to

license applications submitted for public venues.

* * *

Section 4. Section 404 of the act, amended June 8, 2016

(P.L.273, No.39), is amended to read:

Section 404. Issuance, Transfer or Extension of Hotel,

Restaurant and Club Liquor Licenses.--(a) Upon receipt of the

application and the proper fees, and upon being satisfied of the

truth of the statements in the application that the applicant

and management company or companies, if any, are the only

persons in any manner pecuniarily interested in the business so

asked to be licensed and that no other person will be in any

manner pecuniarily interested therein during the continuance of

the license, except as hereinafter permitted, and that the

applicant is a person of good repute, that the premises applied

for meet all the requirements of this act and the regulations of

the board, that the applicant seeks a license for a hotel,

restaurant or club, as defined in this act, and that the

issuance of such license is not prohibited by any of the

provisions of this act, the board shall, in the case of a hotel

or restaurant, grant and issue to the applicant a liquor

license, and in the case of a club may, in its discretion, issue

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or refuse a license: Provided, however, That [in]:

(1) In the case of any new license or the transfer of any

license to a new location or the extension of an existing

license to cover an additional area the board may, in its

discretion, grant or refuse such new license, transfer or

extension if such place proposed to be licensed is within three

hundred feet of any church, hospital, charitable institution,

school, or public playground, or if such new license, transfer

or extension is applied for a place which is within two hundred

feet of any other premises which is licensed by the board: And

provided further, That the board's authority to refuse to grant

a license because of its proximity to a church, hospital,

charitable institution, public playground or other licensed

premises shall not be applicable to license applications

submitted for public venues or performing arts facilities: And

provided further, That the board shall refuse any application

for a new license, the transfer of any license to a new location

or the extension of an existing license to cover an additional

area if, in the board's opinion, such new license, transfer or

extension would be detrimental to the welfare, health, peace and

morals of the inhabitants of the neighborhood within a radius of

five hundred feet of the place proposed to be licensed[: And

provided further, That]. The board shall refuse any application

for a new license, the transfer of any license to a new location

or the extension of any license to cover an additional area

where the sale of liquid fuels or oil is conducted.

(2) In the case of any new license or the transfer of any

license to new ownership at the same location, the board shall

have the discretion to refuse a license to any person or to any

corporation, partnership or association if such person, or any

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officer or director of such corporation, or any member or

partner of such partnership or association shall have been

convicted or found guilty of a felony within a period of five

years immediately preceding the date of application for the said

license. [The board shall not license the area where liquid

fuels or oil is sold. No sales of liquid fuels or oil may be

made from a licensee's licensed premises. A licensed premises

may not have an interior connection with a location that sells

liquid fuels or oil unless it first receives permission from the

board for the interior connection. The approval shall be

required regardless of whether the licensee or another party is

the entity selling the liquid fuels or oil.]

(3) In the case of the transfer of any license both to a new

location and to new ownership, the board may, in its discretion,

grant or refuse such transfer pursuant to the requirements set

forth in clauses (1) and (2). If a current license has not been

renewed, or as a result of provisions of a conditional license

agreement, the current licensee must transfer the license, the

license may be transferred and shall be considered a transfer to

both a new location and new ownership.

(a.1) The board may enter into an agreement with the

applicant concerning additional restrictions on the license in

question. If the board and the applicant enter into such an

agreement, such agreement shall be binding on the applicant.

Failure by the applicant to adhere to the agreement will be

sufficient cause to form the basis for a citation under section

471 and for the nonrenewal of the license under section 470. If

the board enters into an agreement with an applicant concerning

additional restrictions, those restrictions shall be binding on

subsequent holders of the license until the license is

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transferred to a new location or until the board enters into a

subsequent agreement removing those restrictions. If the

application in question involves a location previously licensed

by the board, then any restrictions imposed by the board on the

previous license at that location shall be binding on the

applicant unless the board enters into a new agreement

rescinding those restrictions. The board may, in its discretion,

refuse an application for an economic development license under

section 461(b.1) or an application for an intermunicipal

transfer of a license if the board receives a protest from the

governing body of the receiving municipality. The receiving

municipality of an intermunicipal transfer or an economic

development license under section 461(b.1) may file a protest

against the transfer of a license into its municipality, and the

receiving municipality shall have standing in a hearing to

present testimony in support of or against the issuance or

transfer of a license. Upon any opening in any quota, an

application for a new license shall only be filed with the board

for a period of six months following said opening.

(b) If the applicant intends to use a management company to

operate, manage or supervise all or part of the operation of the

licensed premises, the licensee must file a written application

with the board on a form or forms as the board shall from time

to time prescribe. The application shall be accompanied by a fee

in an amount determined by the board. The board shall refuse the

application if the management company or any person involved

with the management company would be precluded from holding an

interest in the underlying license.

Section 5. This act shall take effect in 60 days.

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