H 3483 General Bill, By Wilder, Carnell, Inabinett, Maddox, J.D. McMaster and 
J.H. Neal
 A BILL TO AMEND SECTION 61-6-180, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976,
 RELATING TO NOTICE OF APPLICATION FOR BEER OR WINE PERMITS AND ALCOHOLIC
 LIQUOR LICENSES, SO AS TO REVISE THE NEWSPAPER NOTICE AND NOTICE POSTING
 REQUIREMENTS.

   02/19/97  House  Introduced and read first time HJ-10
   02/19/97  House  Referred to Committee on Judiciary HJ-10

TO AMEND SECTION 61-6-180, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO NOTICE OF APPLICATION FOR BEER OR WINE PERMITS AND ALCOHOLIC LIQUOR LICENSES, SO AS TO REVISE THE NEWSPAPER NOTICE AND NOTICE POSTING REQUIREMENTS.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION 1. Section 61-6-180 of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 415 of 1996, is amended to read:

"Section 61-6-180. (A) A person who intends to apply for a license under this article or Article 7 of this chapter must advertise at least once a week for three consecutive weeks in a newspaper nearest to the proposed location of the business and in a newspaper most likely to give notice to interested citizens of the county, city, or and community in which the applicant proposes to engage in business. The department must determine which newspapers meet the requirements of this section based on available circulation figures and the proposed location of the business. However, if a newspaper is published in the county and historically has been the newspaper where the advertisements are published, the advertisements published in that newspaper meet the requirements of this section. Residences and businesses within a three block radius of the proposed location must be notified by mail by the applicant of the intent to apply for a license. The notice must be in the legal notice section of the paper, be in large type, cover a space one column wide and not less than two inches deep, and state the type of license applied for, and the exact location at which the proposed business is to be operated. An applicant for a beer or wine permit and an alcoholic liquor license may use the same advertisement for both if the advertisement is approved by the department.

(B) Notice also must be given by displaying a sign for fifteen days at the site of the proposed business and at the closest intersection. The sign must:

(1) state the type of license sought;

(2) state where an interested person may protest the application;

(3) be in bold type;

(4) cover a space at least eleven twelve inches wide and eight and one-half eighteen inches high; and

(5) be posted and removed by an agent of the division.

The provisions of this section requiring publication of notice do not apply to a person licensed under the provisions of this article or Article 7 of this chapter when the licensee applies to the department for a renewal of his license to engage in the same business at the same location."

SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.