SB0258

SENATE BILL 258

52nd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2015

INTRODUCED BY

Jacob R. Candelaria

AN ACT

RELATING TO LIQUOR CONTROL; DEFINING "GROWLER"; PROVIDING FOR BEER, WINE AND CIDER TO BE SOLD IN GROWLERS BY CERTAIN LIQUOR LICENSEES; RECONCILING CONFLICTING AMENDMENTS TO THE SAME SECTION OF LAW BY REPEALING LAWS 2001, CHAPTER 248, SECTION 2.

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. "cider" means an alcoholic beverage made from the normal alcoholic fermentation of the juice of sound, ripe apples that contains not less than one-half of one percent alcohol by volume and not more than seven percent alcohol by volume;

[D.] E. "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.] F. "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.] G. "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.] H. "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.] I. "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.] J. "distiller" means a person engaged in manufacturing spirituous liquors;

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

M. "growler" means a clean, refillable and resealable container that has a liquid capacity that does not exceed one gallon and that is intended and used for the sale of beer, wine or cider for consumption off premises;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SECTION 2. Section 60-6A-11 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1981, Chapter 39, Section 28, as amended) is amended to read:

"60-6A-11. WINEGROWER'S LICENSE.--

A. A person in this state who produces wine is exempt from the procurement of any other license pursuant to the terms of the Liquor Control Act, but not from the procurement of a winegrower's license [is a person in this state who produces wine]. Except during periods of shortage or reduced availability, at least fifty percent of a winegrower's overall annual production of wine shall be produced from grapes or other agricultural products grown in this state pursuant to rules adopted by the director; provided, however, that, for purposes of determining annual production and compliance with the fifty percent New Mexico grown provision of this subsection, the calculation of a winegrower's overall annual production of wine shall not include the winegrower's production of wine for out-of-state wine producer license holders.

B. A person issued a winegrower's license pursuant to this section may do any of the following:

(1) manufacture or produce wine, including blending, mixing, flavoring, coloring, bottling and labeling, whether the wine is manufactured or produced for a winegrower or an out-of-state wine producer holding a permit issued by the federal alcohol tax unit of the internal revenue service and a valid license in a state that authorizes the wine producer to manufacture, produce, store or sell wine;

(2) store, transport, import or export wines;

(3) sell wines to a holder of a New Mexico winegrower's, wine wholesaler's, wholesaler's or wine exporter's license or to a winegrower's agent;

(4) transport not more than two hundred cases of wine in a calendar year to another location within New Mexico by common carrier;

(5) deal in warehouse receipts for wine;

(6) sell wines in other states or foreign jurisdictions to the holders of a license issued under the authority of that state or foreign jurisdiction authorizing the purchase of wine;

(7) buy wine or distilled wine products from other persons, including licensees and permittees under the Liquor Control Act, for use in blending, mixing or bottling of wines;

(8) conduct wine tastings and sell, by the glass or by the bottle or sell in unbroken packages for consumption off the premises but not for resale, wine of the winegrower's own production or wine produced by another New Mexico winegrower on the winegrower's premises;

(9) at no more than three off-premises locations, conduct wine tastings, sell by the glass and sell in unbroken packages for consumption off premises, but not for resale, wine of the winegrower's own production or wine produced by another New Mexico winegrower after the director has determined that the off-premises locations meet the requirements of the Liquor Control Act and the department rules for new liquor license locations;

(10) be deemed a manufacturer for purposes of the Gross Receipts and Compensating Tax Act; [and]

(11) at public celebrations on or off the winegrower's premises, after the winegrower has paid the applicable fees and been issued the appropriate permit, to conduct wine tastings, sell by the glass or the bottle or sell in unbroken packages, for consumption off premises but not for resale, wine produced by or for the winegrower; and

(12) sell wine or cider in a growler for consumption off premises.

C. Sales of wine as provided for in this section shall be permitted between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and midnight Monday through Saturday, and the holder of a winegrower's license or public celebration permit may conduct wine tastings and sell, by the glass or bottle or in unbroken packages for consumption off premises but not for resale, wine of the winegrower's own production on the winegrower's premises between the hours of 12:00 noon and midnight on Sunday.

D. At public celebrations off the winegrower's premises in any local option district permitting the sale of alcoholic beverages, the holder of a winegrower's license shall pay ten dollars ($10.00) to the alcohol and gaming division of the regulation and licensing department for a "winegrower's public celebration permit" to be issued under rules adopted by the director. Upon request, the alcohol and gaming division of the regulation and licensing department may issue to a holder of a winegrower's license a public celebration permit for a location at the public celebration that is to be shared with other winegrowers and small brewers. As used in this subsection, "public celebration" includes any state or county fair, community fiesta, cultural or artistic event, sporting competition of a seasonal nature or activities held on an intermittent basis.

E. Every application for the issuance or annual renewal of a winegrower's license shall be on a form prescribed by the director and accompanied by a license fee to be computed as follows on the basis of total annual wine produced or blended:

(1) less than five thousand gallons per year, twenty-five dollars ($25.00) per year;

(2) between five thousand and one hundred thousand gallons per year, one hundred dollars ($100) per year; and

(3) over one hundred thousand gallons per year, two hundred fifty dollars ($250) per year."

SECTION 3. Section 60-6A-26.1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1985, Chapter 217, Section 5, as amended by Laws 2001, Chapter 248, Section 2 and by Laws 2001, Chapter 260, Section 2) is amended to read:

"60-6A-26.1. SMALL BREWER'S LICENSE.--

A. In [any] a local option district, a person qualified under the provisions of the Liquor Control Act, except as otherwise provided in the Domestic Winery, [and] Small Brewery and Craft Distillery Act, may apply for and be issued a small brewer's license.

B. A small brewer's license authorizes the person to whom it is issued to:

(1) [become a manufacturer or producer of] manufacture or produce beer;

(2) package, label and export beer, whether manufactured, bottled or produced by [him] the licensee or any other person;

(3) sell only beer that is packaged by or for [him] the licensee to a person holding a wholesaler's license or a small brewer's license;

(4) deal in warehouse receipts for beer;

(5) conduct beer tastings and sell for consumption on or off premises, but not for resale, beer produced and bottled by, or produced and packaged for, the licensee or produced and bottled by or for another New Mexico small brewer on the small brewer's premises;

(6) be deemed a manufacturer for purposes of the Gross Receipts and Compensating Tax Act;

(7) at public celebrations off the small brewer's premises, after the small brewer has paid the applicable fee for a small brewer's public celebration permit, conduct tastings and sell by the glass or in unbroken packages, but not for resale, beer produced and bottled by or for the small brewer;

(8) at no more than two other locations off the small brewer's premises, after the small brewer has paid the applicable fee for a small brewer's off-premises permit, after the director has determined that the off-premises locations meet the requirements of the Liquor Control Act and department rules for new liquor license locations and after the director has issued a small brewer's off-premises permit for each off-premises location, conduct beer tastings and sell by the glass or in unbroken packages for consumption off the small brewer's off-premises location, but not for resale, beer produced and bottled by or for the small brewer or beer produced and bottled by or for another New Mexico small brewer; [and]

(9) allow members of the public, on the licensed premises and under the direct supervision of the licensee, to manufacture beer for personal consumption and not for resale using the licensee's equipment and ingredients; and

(10) sell beer in a growler for consumption off premises.

C. At public celebrations off the small brewer's premises in [any] a local option district permitting the sale of alcoholic beverages, the holder of a small brewer's license shall pay ten dollars ($10.00) to the alcohol and gaming division of the regulation and licensing department for a "small brewer's public celebration permit" to be issued under rules adopted by the director. Upon request, the alcohol and gaming division of the regulation and licensing department may issue to a holder of a small brewer's license a public celebration permit for a location at the public celebration that is to be shared with other small brewers and winegrowers. As used in this subsection, "public celebration" includes any state or county fair, community fiesta, cultural or artistic event, sporting competition of a seasonal nature or activities held on an intermittent basis.

D. Sales and tastings of beer authorized in this section shall be permitted during the hours set forth in Subsection A of Section 60-7A-1 NMSA 1978 and between the hours of noon and midnight on Sunday and shall conform to the limitations regarding Christmas and voting-day sales found in Section 60-7A-1 NMSA 1978 and the expansion of Sunday sales hours to 2:00 a.m. on January 1, when December 31 falls on a Sunday."

SECTION 4. REPEAL.--Laws 2001, Chapter 248, Section 2 is repealed.

SECTION 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the provisions of this act is July 1, 2015.

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