HB0413

HOUSE BILL 413

51st legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2013

INTRODUCED BY

Yvette Herrell

AN ACT

RELATING TO LIQUOR; AMENDING THE LIQUOR CONTROL ACT TO ALLOW FOR THE ISSUANCE OF RURAL RESTAURANT LICENSES IN CERTAIN LOCAL OPTION DISTRICTS IN CERTAIN COUNTIES.

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

SECTION 1. A new section of the Liquor Control Act is enacted to read:

"[NEW MATERIAL] RURAL RESTAURANT LICENSE.--Upon satisfaction of all requirements in the Liquor Control Act for the issuance of licenses, in a local option district that has approved the sale of alcoholic beverages, except for a local option district in a class A county, the director shall issue a rural restaurant license to a restaurant located within the local option district permitting the restaurant to sell, serve or allow the consumption of beer, wine and spirituous liquors subject to the following requirements and restrictions:

A. the premises of the restaurant for the proposed rural restaurant license shall not have had a dispenser or canopy license within the prior year;

B. no more than two rural restaurant licenses shall be issued per county;

C. if the director determines that there will be more applications for rural restaurant licenses than the available number of licenses, the director shall use a random selection method for the qualification, approval and issuance of rural restaurant licenses in accordance with the procedures set forth in Subsections H through J of Section 60-6B-2 NMSA 1978 and any rules promulgated by the director;

D. a person shall not hold more than one rural restaurant license per county;

E. a rural restaurant license shall expire annually and be subject to renewal upon application to the director by the licensee in accordance with Section 60-6B-5 NMSA 1978;

F. a rural restaurant license shall not be transferable;

G. a rural restaurant licensee shall not permit the sale of beer, wine or spirituous liquors for consumption off the licensed premises;

H. all sales, service and consumption of beer, wine and spirituous liquors authorized by a rural restaurant license shall cease when meal sales and services cease for the day or at 11:00 p.m., whichever is earlier;

I. if Sunday sales have been approved in the local option district, a rural restaurant licensee may serve beer, wine and spirituous liquors on Sundays until meal sales and services cease for the day or until 11:00 p.m., whichever is earlier;

J. the applicant shall present evidence to the director that the applicant holds a current valid food establishment permit;

K. the applicant shall present sufficient evidence to the satisfaction of the director at the time of application, or upon application for renewal, of a rural restaurant license that at least fifty percent of the total gross receipts for the restaurant will derive from the sale of food and no more than fifty percent of the gross receipts will derive from the sale of alcoholic beverages;

L. upon application for renewal of a rural restaurant license, the licensee shall submit an annual report to the director indicating the annual gross receipts from the sale of meals and from the sale of beer, wine and spirituous liquors; and

M. the provisions of Section 60-6A-18 NMSA 1978 shall not apply to rural restaurant licenses."

SECTION 2. 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 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. As used in 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 federal aviation administration;

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 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 and the grounds and vineyards of a structure that is a winery 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, "licensed premises" includes 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 and 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. "Licensed premises" also includes rural dispenser licenses located in the unincorporated areas of a county with a population of less than thirty thousand, located in buildings in existence as of January 1, 2012, that are within one hundred fifty feet of one another and that are under the direct control of the license holder;

N. "local option district" means a county that has voted to approve the sale, serving or public consumption of alcoholic beverages, or an incorporated municipality that falls within a county that has voted to approve the sale, serving or public consumption of alcoholic beverages, or 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. "manufacturer" means a distiller, rectifier, brewer or winer;

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

Q. "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. "person" means an individual, corporation, firm, partnership, copartnership, association or other legal entity;

S. "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. "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. "retailer" 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 in unbroken packages for consumption and not for resale off the licensed premises;

V. "rural restaurant license" means a license held by a restaurant in a county other than a class A county in New Mexico;

[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;

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

[BB.] CC. "winery" means a facility in which a winegrower manufactures and stores wine."

SECTION 3. 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. canopy license, one thousand three hundred dollars ($1,300);

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

N. 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. wine bottler's license to sell to wholesalers only, five hundred dollars ($500);

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

Q. 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. 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. beer bottler's license, two hundred dollars ($200); and

T. rural restaurant license, a one-time fee of fifty thousand dollars ($50,000), due at the time of issuance of the license, and an annual renewal fee of one thousand three hundred dollars ($1,300)."

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