Bill Text: TX SB1035 | 2013-2014 | 83rd Legislature | Enrolled


Bill Title: Relating to alcoholic beverage license applications and fees.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)

Status: (Passed) 2013-06-14 - Effective on 9/1/13 [SB1035 Detail]

Download: Texas-2013-SB1035-Enrolled.html
 
 
  S.B. No. 1035
 
 
 
 
AN ACT
  relating to alcoholic beverage license applications and fees.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 61.09, Alcoholic Beverage Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 61.09.  CHANGE OF LOCATION. If a licensee desires to
  change the licensee's [his] place of business, the licensee [he]
  may do so by applying to the commission [county judge] on a form
  prescribed by the commission and obtaining the commission's [his]
  consent. The application may be subject to protest and hearing in
  the same way as an application for an original license. In the case
  of a required protest hearing, the [The] county judge may deny the
  application for any cause for which an original license application
  may be denied. No additional license fee for the unexpired term of
  the license shall be required in the case of an application for a
  change of location.
         SECTION 2.  Subsections (a), (b), and (c), Section 61.31,
  Alcoholic Beverage Code, are amended to read as follows:
         (a)  A person may file an application for a license to
  manufacture, distribute, store, or sell beer with the commission on
  forms prescribed by the commission.  On receipt of an application,
  the commission or administrator shall determine whether a protest
  has been filed against the application. If a protest against the
  application has been filed, the commission or administrator shall
  investigate the protest. If the commission or administrator finds
  that no reasonable grounds exist for the protest, or if no protest
  has been filed, the commission or administrator shall issue a
  license if the commission or administrator finds that all facts
  stated in the application are true and no legal ground to refuse a
  license exists. If the commission or administrator finds that
  reasonable grounds exist for the protest, the commission or
  administrator shall reject the protested application and require
  the applicant to file the application with the county judge of the
  county in which the applicant desires to conduct business and
  submit to a hearing [in termtime or vacation with the county judge
  of the county in which he desires to conduct business. He shall
  file the application in duplicate].
         (b)  The county judge shall set a protested [the] application
  for a hearing to be held not less than 5 nor more than 10 days after
  the date the county judge receives the protested application [is
  filed].
         (c)  Each applicant for an original license, other than a
  branch or temporary license, shall pay a hearing fee of $25 [$5] to
  the county clerk at the time of the hearing. The county clerk shall
  deposit the fee in the county treasury. The applicant is liable for
  no other fee except the annual license fee prescribed by this code.
         SECTION 3.  The heading to Section 61.32, Alcoholic Beverage
  Code, is amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 61.32.  PROTEST HEARING BY COUNTY JUDGE.
         SECTION 4.  Subsection (b), Section 61.32, Alcoholic
  Beverage Code, is amended to read as follows:
         (b)  If the county judge enters an order favorable to the
  applicant, the applicant shall present a copy of the order to the
  commission [assessor and collector of taxes of the county and pay
  that officer the appropriate license fee. The assessor and
  collector of taxes then shall report to the commission on a form
  prescribed by the commission, certifying that the application was
  approved and that all required fees have been paid and furnishing
  any other information the commission requires. The assessor and
  collector of taxes shall attach a copy of the original application
  to the report].
         SECTION 5.  Section 61.33, Alcoholic Beverage Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 61.33.  ACTION BY COMMISSION OR ADMINISTRATOR AFTER
  PROTEST HEARING. (a)  On receiving an order [a report] from the
  county judge [assessor and collector of taxes] under Section
  61.32(b) [of this code], the commission or administrator shall
  issue the appropriate license if the commission or administrator
  finds that the applicant is entitled to a license. The license
  shall show the class of business the applicant is authorized to
  conduct, the amount of fees paid, the address of the place of
  business, the date the license is issued and the date it expires,
  and any other information the commission considers proper.
         (b)  The commission or administrator may refuse to issue a
  license after receiving the order from [report of] the county judge
  [assessor and collector of taxes] if the commission or
  administrator possesses information from which it is determined
  that any statement in the license application is false or
  misleading or that there is other legal reason why a license should
  not be issued. If the commission or administrator refuses to issue
  a license, the commission [it] or administrator [he] shall enter an
  order accordingly and the applicant is entitled to a refund of any
  license fee the applicant [he] paid [the assessor and collector of
  taxes] in connection with the application.
         SECTION 6.  Subsection (b), Section 61.34, Alcoholic
  Beverage Code, is amended to read as follows:
         (b)  If the judgment of the district court is in favor of the
  applicant, regardless of whether an appeal is taken, the applicant
  shall present a copy of the judgment [shall be presented] to the
  commission [assessor and collector of taxes of the county where the
  application was made. The assessor and collector of taxes shall
  accept the fees required by this code and proceed as provided under
  Section 61.32 of this code as if the county judge had approved the
  application].
         SECTION 7.  Section 61.35, Alcoholic Beverage Code, is
  amended by amending Subsections (b) and (d) and adding Subsection
  (e) to read as follows:
         (b)  All license fees, except those for temporary licenses,
  shall be deposited as provided in Section 205.02 [of this code].
  Each license application must be accompanied by a cashier's check,
  a teller's check, a check drawn on the account of a corporation
  applying for a license or on the account of a corporation that is an
  agent for the person applying for a license, a money order, or
  payment by credit card, charge card, or other electronic form of
  payment approved by commission rule for the amount of the state fee,
  payable to the order of the comptroller. [The assessor and
  collector of taxes shall make statements of the amounts collected
  by him under this code to the commission at the times and in the
  manner required by the commission or administrator.]
         (d)  The commissioner may not refund a license fee except
  when the [If a] licensee [engaged in selling beer] is prevented from
  continuing in business by a local option election or when an
  application for a license is rejected by the commission or
  administrator[, he is entitled to a refund of a proportionate
  amount of the license fees he has paid covering the unexpired term
  of his license]. As much of the proceeds from license fees [derived
  under the provisions of this subtitle] as is necessary may be
  appropriated for that purpose.
         (e)  The commission by rule shall establish a method for
  transmitting five percent of the license fee to the assessor and
  collector of taxes of the county in which the applicant's business
  is located.
         SECTION 8.  Section 61.38, Alcoholic Beverage Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 61.38.  NOTICE OF APPLICATION. (a)  Every original
  applicant [When an application] for a license to manufacture, [or]
  distribute, or [beer is filed, the county clerk shall post at the
  courthouse door a written notice containing the substance of the
  application and the date set for hearing.
         [(b)     When an original application to sell beer at retail at
  a location previously licensed is filed, the county clerk shall
  post at the courthouse door a written notice containing the
  substance of the application and the date set for hearing.
         [(c)  When an original application to] sell beer at retail
  shall give notice of the application by electronic or nonelectronic
  publication at the applicant's own expense in [at a location not
  previously licensed is filed, the county clerk shall publish notice
  for] two consecutive issues of [in] a newspaper of general
  circulation published in the city or town in which the applicant's
  place of business is [to be] located. If no newspaper [of general
  circulation] is published in that city or town, the notice must
  [shall] be published in a newspaper of general circulation
  published in the county where the applicant's business is [to be]
  located. If no newspaper [of general circulation] is published in
  that county, the notice must [shall] be published in a qualified
  newspaper [which is] published in the closest neighboring county
  and [is] circulated in the county where the applicant's business is
  located [license is sought].
         (b)  The notice must [shall] be printed in 10-point boldface
  type and must include:
               (1)  [shall set forth] the type of license applied for;
               (2)  the exact location of the business for which the
  license is sought;
               (3)  the name of each [the] owner of the business and,
  if the business is operated under an assumed name, [or owners;] the
  trade name together with the name of each owner[, if operating under
  an assumed name]; and
               (4)  if [in] the [case of a corporate] applicant is a
  corporation, the names and titles of all officers [of the
  corporation].
         (c)  An applicant for a renewal license is not required to
  publish notice. [At the time the application is filed, the
  applicant shall deposit with the clerk the cost of publishing
  notice, which the clerk shall use to pay for the publication.]
         SECTION 9.  Subsection (c), Section 61.41, Alcoholic
  Beverage Code, is amended to read as follows:
         (c)  If the holder of the existing license has made a
  declaration required by the commission that the license holder will
  no longer use the license, the license holder may not manufacture or
  sell beer or possess it for the purpose of sale until the license
  has been reinstated.  The holder may apply to the commission [county
  judge] for the reinstatement of the license in the same manner and
  according to the same procedure as in the case of an original
  license application.  The county judge or the commission or
  administrator may deny reinstatement of the license for any cause
  for which an original license application may be denied.
         SECTION 10.  Section 61.48, Alcoholic Beverage Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 61.48.  RENEWAL APPLICATION. An application to renew a
  license shall be filed with the commission [in writing with the
  assessor and collector of taxes of the county in which the licensed
  premises are located] no earlier than 30 days before the license
  expires but not after it expires. The application shall be signed
  by the applicant and shall contain complete information required by
  the commission showing that the applicant is not disqualified from
  holding a license. The application shall be accompanied by the
  appropriate license fee [plus a filing fee of $2. The assessor and
  collector of taxes shall deposit the $2 filing fee in the county
  treasury and shall account for it as a fee of office]. No applicant
  for a renewal may be required to pay any fee other than license fees
  and the filing fee unless the applicant [he] is required by the
  commission or administrator to submit to a renewal hearing before
  the county judge.
         SECTION 11.  Section 61.49, Alcoholic Beverage Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 61.49.  ACTION ON RENEWAL APPLICATION BY [TRANSMITTED
  TO] COMMISSION; REFUND OF FEE. When the renewal application has
  been filed in accordance with Section 61.48 [of this code, the
  assessor and collector of taxes shall transmit to the commission
  the original copy of the application plus a certification that all
  required fees have been paid for the ensuing license period. On
  receiving the application and certification], the commission or
  administrator may in its discretion issue a renewal license or if an
  application for a renewal is protested reject the application and
  require the applicant to file an application with the county judge
  and submit to a hearing as is required by Section 61.31 [in the case
  of an original application]. [When an application for renewal is
  rejected, the applicant is entitled to a refund of any license fee
  that was paid to the assessor and collector of taxes at the time the
  renewal application was filed.]
         SECTION 12.  Subsection (a), Section 62.03, Alcoholic
  Beverage Code, is amended to read as follows:
         (a)  Except as provided by Section 62.14, each applicant for
  a manufacturer's license shall file with an application a sworn
  statement that the applicant will be engaged in the business of
  brewing and packaging beer in this state in quantities sufficient
  to make the applicant's operation a bona fide brewing manufacturer
  within three years of the issuance of the original license. If the
  applicant is a corporation, the statement must be signed by one of
  its principal officers. The commission, administrator, or county
  judge may not approve an application unless it is accompanied by the
  required sworn statement.
         SECTION 13.  Section 74.05, Alcoholic Beverage Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 74.05.  STATEMENT OF INTENT. An applicant for a brewpub
  license shall file with the application a sworn statement that the
  applicant shall be engaged in the business of brewing and packaging
  malt liquor, ale, or beer in this state in quantities sufficient to
  operate a brewpub not later than six months after the date of
  issuance of the original license. If the applicant is a
  corporation, the statement must be signed by a principal corporate
  officer. The commission, administrator, or [A] county judge may
  not issue a brewpub license to an applicant who does not submit the
  required sworn statement with the application for a license.
         SECTION 14.  The change in law made by this Act applies only
  to a license application filed on or after the effective date of
  this Act.  A license application filed before the effective date of
  this Act is governed by the law as it existed immediately before the
  effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in effect for
  that purpose.
         SECTION 15.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.
 
 
 
 
 
  ______________________________ ______________________________
     President of the Senate Speaker of the House     
 
         I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1035 passed the Senate on
  April 11, 2013, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0; and that
  the Senate concurred in House amendment on May 22, 2013, by the
  following vote: Yeas 30, Nays 1.
 
 
  ______________________________
  Secretary of the Senate    
 
         I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1035 passed the House, with
  amendment, on May 17, 2013, by the following vote: Yeas 132,
  Nays 2, two present not voting.
 
 
  ______________________________
  Chief Clerk of the House   
 
 
 
  Approved:
 
  ______________________________ 
              Date
 
 
  ______________________________ 
            Governor
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