House Bill text for HB0971

HOUSE BILL 971

48th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2007

INTRODUCED BY

Brian K. Moore

AN ACT

RELATING TO ALCOHOLIC LIQUORS; CREATING A LIMITED DISPENSER'S LICENSE FOR USE IN LOCAL OPTION DISTRICTS THAT ARE CLASS B OR C COUNTIES OR FIRST CLASS COUNTIES WITH A 2006 VALUATION OF ONE HUNDRED FIFTY MILLION DOLLARS ($150,000,000) OR LESS.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

Section 1. Section 60-3A-3 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1981, Chapter 39, Section 3, as amended) is amended to read:

"60-3A-3. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Liquor Control Act:

A. "alcoholic beverages" means distilled or rectified spirits, potable alcohol, brandy, whiskey, rum, gin and aromatic bitters bearing the federal internal revenue strip stamps or any similar alcoholic beverage, including blended or fermented beverages, dilutions or mixtures of one or more of the foregoing containing more than one-half percent alcohol, but excluding medicinal bitters;

B. "beer" means an alcoholic beverage obtained by the fermentation of any infusion or decoction of barley, malt and hops or other cereals in water, and includes porter, beer, ale and stout;

C. "brewer" means a person who owns or operates a business for the manufacture of beer;

D. "club" means:

(1) any nonprofit group, including an auxiliary or subsidiary group, organized and operated under the laws of this state, with a membership of not less than fifty members who pay membership dues at the rate of not less than five dollars ($5.00) per year and who, under the constitution and bylaws of the club, have all voting rights and full membership privileges, and which group is the owner, lessee or occupant of premises used exclusively for club purposes and which group the director finds:

(a) is operated solely for recreation, social, patriotic, political, benevolent or athletic purposes; and

(b) has been granted an exemption by the United States from the payment of the federal income tax as a club under the provisions of Section 501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or, if the applicant has not operated as a club for a sufficient time to be eligible for the income tax exemption, it must execute and file with the director a sworn letter of intent declaring that it will, in good faith, apply for [such] an income tax exemption as soon as it is eligible; or

(2) an airline passenger membership club operated by an air common carrier that maintains or operates a clubroom at an international airport terminal. For the purposes of this paragraph, "air common carrier" means a person engaged in regularly scheduled air transportation between fixed termini under a certificate of public convenience and necessity issued by the civil aeronautics board;

E. "commission" means the secretary of public safety when the term is used in reference to the enforcement and investigatory provisions of the Liquor Control Act and means the superintendent of regulation and licensing when the term is used in reference to the licensing provisions of the Liquor Control Act;

F. "department" means the special investigations division of the department of public safety when the term is used in reference to the enforcement and investigatory provisions of the Liquor Control Act and means the director of the alcohol and gaming division of the regulation and licensing department when the term is used in reference to the licensing provisions of the Liquor Control Act;

G. "director" means the director of the special investigations division of the department of public safety when the term is used in reference to the enforcement and investigatory provisions of the Liquor Control Act and means the director of the alcohol and gaming division of the regulation and licensing department when the term is used in reference to the licensing provisions of the Liquor Control Act;

H. "dispenser" means a person licensed under the provisions of the Liquor Control Act selling, offering for sale or having in [his] the person's possession with the intent to sell alcoholic beverages both by the drink for consumption on the licensed premises and in unbroken packages for consumption and not for resale off the licensed premises;

I. "distiller" means a person engaged in manufacturing spirituous liquors;

J. "golf course" means a tract of land and facilities used for playing golf and other recreational activities that includes tees, fairways, greens, hazards, putting greens, driving ranges, recreational facilities, patios, pro shops, cart paths and public and private roads that are located within the tract of land;

K. "governing body" means the board of county commissioners of a county or the city council or city commissioners of a municipality;

L. "hotel" means an establishment or complex having a resident of New Mexico as a proprietor or manager and where, in consideration of payment, meals and lodging are regularly furnished to the general public. The establishment or complex must maintain for the use of its guests a minimum of twenty-five sleeping rooms;

M. "licensed premises" means the contiguous areas or areas connected by indoor passageways of a structure and the outside dining, recreation and lounge areas of the structure that are under the direct control of the licensee and from which the licensee is authorized to sell, serve or allow the consumption of alcoholic beverages under the provisions of its license; provided that in the case of a restaurant, including a restaurant that has operated continuously in two separate structures since July 1, 1987 and that is located in a local option district that has voted to disapprove the transfer of liquor licenses into that local option district, hotel, golf course or racetrack, "licensed premises" includes all public and private rooms, facilities and areas in which alcoholic beverages are sold or served in the customary operating procedures of the restaurant, hotel, golf course or racetrack;

N. "limited dispenser" means a person licensed under the provisions of the Liquor Control Act selling, offering for sale or having in the person's possession with the intent to sell alcoholic beverages only by the drink for consumption on the licensed premises;

[N.] O. "local option district" means a county that has voted to approve the sale, serving or public consumption of alcoholic beverages, or [any] an incorporated municipality that falls within a county that has voted to approve the sale, serving or public consumption of alcoholic beverages, or [any] an incorporated municipality of over five thousand population that has independently voted to approve the sale, serving or public consumption of alcoholic beverages under the terms of the Liquor Control Act or any former act;

[O.] P. "manufacturer" means a distiller, rectifier, brewer or winer;

[P.] Q. "minor" means a person under twenty-one years of age;

[Q.] R. "package" means an immediate container of alcoholic beverages that is filled or packed by a manufacturer or wine bottler for sale by the manufacturer or wine bottler to wholesalers;

[R.] S. "person" means an individual, corporation, firm, partnership, copartnership, association or other legal entity;

[S.] T. "rectifier" means a person who blends, mixes or distills alcohol with other liquids or substances for the purpose of making an alcoholic beverage for the purpose of sale other than to the consumer by the drink, and includes all bottlers of spirituous liquors;

[T.] U. "restaurant" means an establishment having a New Mexico resident as a proprietor or manager that is held out to the public as a place where meals are prepared and served primarily for on-premises consumption to the general public in consideration of payment and that has a dining room, a kitchen and the employees necessary for preparing, cooking and serving meals; provided that "restaurant" does not include establishments as defined in rules promulgated by the director serving only hamburgers, sandwiches, salads and other fast foods;

[U.] V. "retailer" means a person licensed under the provisions of the Liquor Control Act selling, offering for sale or having in [his] the person's possession with the intent to sell alcoholic beverages in unbroken packages for consumption and not for resale off the licensed premises;

[V.] W. "spirituous liquors" means alcoholic beverages as defined in Subsection A of this section except fermented beverages such as wine, beer and ale;

[W.] X. "wholesaler" means a person whose place of business is located in New Mexico and who sells, offers for sale or possesses for the purpose of sale any alcoholic beverages for resale by the purchaser;

[X.] Y. "wine" includes the words "fruit juices" and means alcoholic beverages obtained by the fermentation of the natural sugar contained in fruit or other agricultural products, with or without the addition of sugar or other products, that do not contain less than one-half percent nor more than twenty-one percent alcohol by volume;

[Y.] Z. "wine bottler" means a New Mexico wholesaler who is licensed to sell wine at wholesale for resale only and who buys wine in bulk and bottles it for wholesale resale;

[Z.] AA. "winegrower" means a person who owns or operates a business for the manufacture of wine; and

[AA.] BB. "winer" means a winegrower."

Section 2. Section 60-6A-15 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1981, Chapter 39, Section 32, as amended) is amended to read:

"60-6A-15. LICENSE FEES.--Every application for the issuance or renewal of the following licenses shall be accompanied by a license fee in the following specified amounts:

A. manufacturer's license as a distiller, except a brandy manufacturer, three thousand dollars ($3,000);

B. manufacturer's license as a brewer, three thousand dollars ($3,000);

C. manufacturer's license as a rectifier, one thousand fifty dollars ($1,050);

D. wholesaler's license to sell all alcoholic beverages for resale only, two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500);

E. wholesaler's license to sell spirituous liquors and wine for resale only, one thousand seven hundred fifty dollars ($1,750);

F. wholesaler's license to sell spirituous liquors for resale only, one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500);

G. wholesaler's license to sell beer and wine for resale only, one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500);

H. wholesaler's license to sell beer for resale only, one thousand dollars ($1,000);

I. wholesaler's license to sell wine for resale only, seven hundred fifty dollars ($750);

J. retailer's license, one thousand three hundred dollars ($1,300);

K. dispenser's license, one thousand three hundred dollars ($1,300);

L. limited dispenser's license, one thousand three hundred dollars ($1,300);

[L.] M. canopy license, one thousand three hundred dollars ($1,300);

[M.] N. restaurant license, one thousand fifty dollars ($1,050);

[N.] O. club license, for clubs with more than two hundred fifty members, one thousand two hundred fifty dollars ($1,250), and for clubs with two hundred fifty members or fewer, two hundred fifty dollars ($250);

[O.] P. wine bottler's license to sell to wholesalers only, five hundred dollars ($500);

[P.] Q. public service license, one thousand two hundred fifty dollars ($1,250);

[Q.] R. nonresident licenses, for a total billing to New Mexico wholesalers:

(1) in excess of:

$3,000,000 annually. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $10,500;

1,000,000 annually. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,250;

500,000 annually. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,750;

200,000 annually. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,700;

100,000 annually. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,800;

and

50,000 annually. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 900;

and

(2) of $50,000 or less. . . . . . . . . .$300;

[R.] S. wine wholesaler's license, for persons with sales of five thousand gallons of wine per year or less, twenty-five dollars ($25.00), and for persons with sales in excess of five thousand gallons of wine per year, one hundred dollars ($100); and

[S.] T. beer bottler's license, two hundred dollars ($200)."

Section 3. A new section of the Liquor Control Act is enacted to read:

"[NEW MATERIAL] LIMITED DISPENSER'S LICENSE.--

A. In a local option district that is a class B or C county or a first class county with a 2006 valuation of one hundred fifty million dollars ($150,000,000) or less, a person qualified under the provisions of the Liquor Control Act may apply for and be granted a limited dispenser's license.

B. A limited dispenser's license:

(1) shall only be used by the person to which the license is issued and shall only be used within the original licensed premises, pursuant to the provisions of the Liquor Control Act. The license shall not be transferred in any manner, including sale, bulk sale, lease, exchange or assignment, to another person, other than to an original licensee, or to another location;

(2) only entitles the person to which it is issued to sell alcoholic beverages by the drink for consumption on the licensed premises and does not entitle the person to sell alcoholic beverages in unbroken packages for consumption off the licensed premises;

(3) is not subject to the provisions of Section 60-6A-18 NMSA 1978 regarding the maximum number of licenses that may be issued; and

(4) shall expire by its own terms and not be renewable if:

(a) the business premises for which it was originally issued are transferred in violation of Paragraph (1) of this subsection;

(b) as an exception to the provisions of Section 60-6B-7 NMSA 1978, the licensee fails to commence operation of the licensed premises within ninety days after the license is issued and to operate continuously during customary hours and days of operation for that type of business with no more than ten days of cessation of business during each license year; provided that the licensee gives written notice of the cessation to the director prior to the start of the cessation period. The director may extend the number of days of cessation of a licensed business pursuant to this paragraph for good cause shown based upon an unforeseeable event happening to the licensed premises or the licensee; and

(c) the licensee fails to renew the license within thirty days of the license annual renewal date pursuant to the Liquor Control Act.

C. Except as otherwise provided in this section, a limited dispenser's license is subject to the provisions of the Liquor Control Act applicable to a dispenser's license."

Section 4. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the provisions of this act is July 1, 2007.

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