PRIOR PRINTER'S NOS. 1919, 1988
PRINTER'S NO. 2066
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.
1524
Session of
2019
INTRODUCED BY RADER, MILLARD, ROTHMAN, JAMES, MEHAFFIE, TOOHIL,
PICKETT, BROWN, KAUFER, JOZWIAK, PEIFER, BOBACK, FRITZ, MOUL
AND O'NEAL, MAY 29, 2019
AS AMENDED ON SECOND CONSIDERATION, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
JUNE 10, 2019
AN ACT
Amending the act of April 12, 1951 (P.L.90, No.21), entitled "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;
and, in licenses and regulations, liquor, alcohol and malt
and brewed beverages, further providing for limiting number
of retail licenses to be issued in each county and for
licenses not assignable and transfers.
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
definitions to read:
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Section 102. Definitions.--The following words or phrases,
unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, shall have the
meanings ascribed to them in this section:
* * *
"Saturated county" shall mean a county with more than one
restaurant liquor license per three thousand (3,000) inhabitants
in the top twenty-five highest ratios of restaurant liquor
licenses to county population in this Commonwealth.
* * *
"Tourist development project" shall mean a planned
development situated on at least ninety acres of land,
constructed since January 1, 2019, that is dedicated primarily
to interstate tourism with at least five hundred thousand square
feet of actual or proposed development, with a mix of
entertainment and retail uses.
* * *
Section 2. Section 461(a) and (b.4)(4) of the act are
amended and the section is amended by adding a subsection to
read:
Section 461. Limiting Number of Retail Licenses To Be Issued
In Each County.--(a) No additional restaurant, eating place
retail dispenser or club licenses shall be issued within a
county if the total number of restaurant and eating place retail
dispenser licenses is greater than one license for each three
thousand inhabitants in the county, except the board may issue
licenses to public venues, performing arts facilities,
continuing care retirement communities, airport restaurants,
municipal golf courses, hotels, privately-owned private golf
courses, privately-owned public golf courses, racetracks,
automobile racetracks, nonprimary pari-mutuel wagering
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locations, privately-owned ski resorts and to any other entity
which this act specifically exempts from the limitations
provided in this section, and the board may issue a license to a
club situated in a borough having a population less than eight
thousand inhabitants which is located in a county of the second
class A whose application is filed on or before February 28,
2001. In addition, the board may issue an eating place retail
dispenser license for on-premises sales only to the owner or
operator of a facility having a minimum of a one-half mile
asphalt track and having a permanent seating capacity of at
least six thousand people used principally for holding
automobile races, regardless of the number of restaurant and
eating place retail dispenser licenses already issued in that
county. When determining the number of restaurant and eating
place retail dispenser licenses issued in a county for the
purposes of this section, licenses exempted from this
limitation, licenses subject to the mixed-use town development
project provisions of this act, licenses subject to the tourist
development project provisions of this act and club licenses
shall not be considered. Inhabitants of dry municipalities shall
be considered when determining the population in a county.
Licenses shall not be issued or transferred into municipalities
where such licenses are prohibited pursuant to local referendum
in accordance with section 472. Licenses approved for
intermunicipal transfer may not be transferred from the
receiving municipality for a period of five years after the date
that the licensed premises are operational in the receiving
municipality.
* * *
(b.4) * * *
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(4) The board may approve licensure of exterior serving
areas for premises to be located within a mixed-use town center
development project or tourist development project where such
exterior serving areas are situated on municipal-owned or
private-owned property, regardless of whether such exterior
serving areas are located immediately adjacent, abutting or
contiguous to the building to be licensed, provided that the
employes of licensees in a qualified mixed-use town center
development project or tourist development project may traverse
unlicensed areas in order to deliver alcohol to patrons who are
seated in any such licensed serving area that is not immediate,
adjacent, abutting and contiguous to the licensee's primary
licensed premises; and provided further that any such licensed
serving area is delineated from all adjacent public areas by a
railing, barrier or other partition for the purpose of table
service only; and provided further that the entirety of such
noncontiguous licensed exterior serving area or areas is not
located more than thirty-five feet from the nearest point of the
licensed structure; and provided further that such noncontiguous
licensed exterior serving areas shall not include any additional
enclosed structure with four walls and a roof other than the
primary licensed building; and provided further that any and all
public thoroughfare or thoroughfares situated between the
licensed building and the noncontiguous exterior licensed
serving area is or are used primarily for pedestrian foot
traffic and not vehicular traffic; and provided further that the
local municipality has approved, by ordinance or resolution, the
use of such areas by the applicant; and provided further that,
in the case of municipal-owned property, a sidewalk cafe or
similar permit, as applicable, is first obtained by the
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applicant; and provided further that the applicant complies with
any regulation issued by the board pursuant hereto or in
furtherance hereof. Any restaurant ("R"), eating place ("E") or
hotel ("H") license transferred to or issued for premises
located within a mixed-use town center development or tourist
development project shall have the privileges of this subsection
so long as such license remains within the mixed-use town center
development or tourist development project.
* * *
(b.5)
(1)
Notwithstanding
any
other
provision of
this
act
to
the
contrary,
the board
may approve the
transfer of
a
restaurant
liquor license available for auction
under
section
470.3 for
the
purpose
of economic
development
through
increased
tourism,
subject
to the conditions of this subsection.
(2) A tourist development project restaurant liquor license
application
may
be submitted
by
any interested
party at any
time. The application to
the
board shall
be
accompanied
by a
resolution or
ordinance indicating that the municipality
has
approved
the request to have the area designated as
a
tourist
development project by
the
board,
a
map
of
the
area proposed
to
be
designated and any additional
information
the
board may
require. The application fee shall be one million dollars
($1,000,000).
(3) The
proposed location
must
be within
a
tourist
development
project
as the term
is
defined in
section
102
and
within a
municipality
that allows
for
the issuance
and
transfer
of
restaurant
liquor
licenses
under
section
472.
(4) A tourist development project restaurant liquor license
application must indicate the number of restaurant liquor
licenses that the applicant is seeking, but the applicant may
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not
seek
more
than seventy-five licenses for the tourist
development project. The
applicant must submit a surcharge of
sixty-five thousand ($65,000) dollars for each restaurant liquor
license upon board approval of the transfer of the applicable
restaurant liquor license.
(5) O n receiving a tourist development project restaurant
license application as well as any additional documents and
fees,
and following satisfaction
that
the
applicant's
request
meets
all
board requirements, the
board shall
approve
the
application
request
and place the surcharge under clause (4)
into T he S tate S tores F und. The restaurant liquor license shall
then be held in safekeeping for the benefit
of the applicant
until the applicant or the applicant's assignee files a formal
transfer application. The applicant
may
assignee the rights to
file a formal transfer
application
to a third party.
(6) The
board
may
choose
which
specific restaurant liquor
licenses
will
be
made
available
for transfer
but
shall choose
licenses
from
a
saturated
county, if they
are available, up
to
the
maximum
number
of
licenses
that
can
be
accepted
from
that
saturated
county. For
purposes
of
this
subsection,
the
maximum
number
of
licenses
that
can
be accepted from a county shall be
calculated by subtracting from the total number
of restaurant
liquor licenses in the county, a number
equal to 2.64 times the
county
population divided
by
three
thousand.
(7) A license held
in safekeeping under clause (5) may
remain in safekeeping for up to four years without
having
to
pay
the
additional
safekeeping
fees in
section
474.1. The
restaurant liquor license
shall
be
subject
to
all
other
fees
such
as
renewal fees
and
the
application
surcharge under
section
470. After
the four-year period,
measured
from
the
date
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the
board
approves
the application
request
for
making
the
license
available
for
transfer,
the
license
shall
be
revoked
unless the
applicant
has submitted
a
transfer
application
prior
to
that
date. I f a
license
is
revoked,
the applicant
may
not receive
any
refund. A license revoked under this clause
shall be reassigned to the county in which the license was
located before the license was transferred under this subsection
and be available for auction under section 470.3.
(8) A restaurant liquor
license
transferred
under this
subsection may not be transferred
to
a location
outside
of
the
designated
tourist
development
project.
(9) A license transferred
under
this subsection
is
ineligible for a wine expanded permit
under
section
415. A
licensee under this subsection may not sell malt and brewed
beverages for off-premises consumption except patrons may take
wine, spirits and malt and brewed beverages off the licensed
premises if the wine, spirits and malt and brewed beverages
remain in the area previously designated as a tourist
development project.
(10) A l icense
transferred
into
a
new
county
under
this
subsection may
not
be counted
toward
or
subject to
the
county
quota under subsection (a).
(11) The renewal and validation dates of a license
transferred into
a
new
county
under
this
subsection
shall be
amended to
match the
renewal and validation
date of the
licenses
in
the county.
* * *
Section 3. Section 468(a)(1) of the act is amended to read:
Section 468. Licenses Not Assignable; Transfers.--(a) (1)
Licenses issued under this article may not be assigned. The
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board, upon payment of the transfer filing fee, is hereby
authorized to transfer any license issued by it under the
provisions of this article from one person to another or from
one place to another, or both. Except for restaurant liquor and
eating place retail dispenser licenses transferred under section
461(b.4) and restaurant liquor licenses transferred under
section 461(b.5), if the license is a retail license, the new
location must be within the same county as the existing location
or, if the municipality is located in more than one county,
within the same municipality as the existing location.
* * *
Section 4. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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