Amend the bill, as and if amended, by striking all after the enacting words and inserting:
/ SECTION 1. A. Section 61-2-140(B) of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"(B) Except as provided in Section 61-6-125, licenses and permits are the property of the department and are not transferable. Licenses and permits must be surrendered immediately to the department upon the termination of a business, upon a change of ownership, possession, or control of a corporation or business entity, or upon a change in the character of the property, facilities, or nature of the business activity for which a license or permit has been issued. The transfer of twenty-five percent or more of corporate stock is considered a change in ownership."
B. The provisions of this section take effect January 1, 2025.
SECTION 2. A. Subarticle 1, Article 3, Chapter 6, Title 61 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 61-6-115.
(A) Upon the effective date of this
section, the number of retail dealer licenses issued in a county
shall not exceed the ratio of one license for every five
thousand residents. The department shall not issue an
additional retail dealer license in a county that has reached or
exceeded a ratio of one license for every five thousand
residents. This limitation upon the number of licenses does not
apply to existing licenses or to the renewal or transfer of
these licenses. All such licenses are exempt from the
provisions of this section as long as the businesses are in
continuous operation. The initial population figures used in
this computation must be the 2020 United States Decennial Census
figures.
(B) The department
shall issue an additional retail dealer license in a county: (1)
pursuant to licenses authorized under the transfer provisions of
Section 61-6-125; or (2) pursuant to an increase in population
based on annual estimates published by the Revenue and Fiscal
Affairs Office. The department shall review the number of
retail dealer licenses for each county at the beginning of each
fiscal year and publish results no later than August first of
the fiscal year."
B. The provisions of this section take effect January 1, 2025.
SECTION 3. A. Subarticle 1, Article 3, Chapter 6, Title 61 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 61-6-125.
When a licensee has made a bona fide sale of the business
which holds a retail dealer license, he may obtain a transfer of
such license to the purchaser of the business, provided the
purchaser and his proposed location are approved by the
department in accordance with procedures required of a new
applicant and the proposed location is in the same county. If
the transferee and his proposed location are approved by the
department, the transferee shall pay a transfer fee of five
thousand dollars to the department. This fee is in addition to
filing fees and license fees required of all applicants.
A change in ownership of twenty-five
percent or more is considered a transfer and subject to the
transfer fee.
The department shall waive the transfer
fee, but not the filing fee or license fee, when the transfer of
interest occurs by operation of law because of death, judicial
proceedings, court appointment of a fiduciary, foreclosed or
forced judicial sale, or bankruptcy proceedings."
B. The provisions of this section take effect January 1, 2025.
SECTION 4. A. Section 61-6-4280 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 61-6-4280.
Except as provided in Section 61-6-125, licenses
and permits are the property of the department, are not
transferable, and, upon the termination of a business or upon a
change of ownership, possession, or control, or upon a
substantial change in the character of the property or
facilities or nature of business for which a license or permit
has been issued, must be surrendered immediately to the
department.
When a person or business has multiple
licenses or permits for locations within three hundred feet of
each other, administrative penalties may be applied to all the
licenses and permits."
B. The provisions of this section take effect January 1, 2025.
SECTION 5. Subarticle 1, Article 3, Chapter 6, Title 61 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 61-6-135.
(A) Upon the effective date of this
section, no licensee may hold more than five percent of the
total number of retail dealer licenses issued by the
Department.
(B) Upon the effective
date of this section, no licensee may hold more than three
retail dealer licenses in any one county."
SECTION 6. Section 61-6-140 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 61-6-140.
To promote adequate law enforcement, regulatory measures,
health care costs, and associated impacts on the health, safety,
and welfare of the state's residents resulting from the
anticipated sales of liquor, and to curb relationships and
practices calculated to stimulate sales and impair the state's
policy favoring trade stability and the promotion of temperance,
in determining whether a political subdivision is adequately
served pursuant to Section 61-6-170, and to provide for an
orderly provision of retail dealer licenses, the issuance of
retail dealer licenses must be governed pursuant to the
following requirements:
(1) The department
shall not issue no more than three
retail dealer licenses to one licensee until December 31,
2018, no more than five licenses from January 1, 2019 until
December 31, 2019, no more than seven licenses from January 1,
2020 until December 31, 2020, and no more than nine licenses
from January 1, 2021 until December 31, 2024, and the
licensee must be eligible for a license for each store pursuant
to Section 61-6-110.
(2) The limitation
of no more than three retail on the number
of retail dealer licenses to one licensee does not apply to
a person having an interest in retail liquor stores as of July
1, 1978.
(3) The General
Assembly finds that the issuance of multiple retail dealer
licenses pursuant to this section should exist only for a time
certain to serve and promote the policies set forth in this
section. It is the intent of the General Assembly to provide for
a sunset provision on the limitation of three
on the number of retail dealer licenses held by one
licensee as enacted by this section. The provisions of this
section are therefor repealed on April 5, 2018
January 1, 2025."
SECTION 7. Section 61-6-150 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 61-6-150.
No person, directly or indirectly, individually or as a
member of a partnership or an association, as a member or
stockholder of a corporation, or as a relative to a person by
blood or marriage within the second degree, may have any
interest whatsoever in a retail liquor store licensed under this
section except the three for those number
of stores covered by his retail dealer's licenses, as
provided for in Section 61-6-140. The prohibitions in this
section do not apply to a person having an interest in retail
liquor stores on July 1, 1978. It is the intent of the General
Assembly to provide for a sunset provision on the limitation
of three on the number of retail dealer
licenses held by one licensee as enacted by this section. The
provisions of this section are therefor repealed on
April 5, 2018 January 1, 2025."
SECTION 8. Sections 61-6-130, 61-6-140, 61-6-150, and 61-6-170 of the 1976 Code are repealed on January 1, 2025.
SECTION 9. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor. /
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend title to conform.