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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR Vigil

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

2/08/07

HB 754

SHORT TITLE Liquor Licenses Near Interstate Highways

SB

ANALYST Wilson

ESTIMATED ADDITIONAL OPERATING BUDGET IMPACT (dollars in thousands)

FY07

FY08

FY09 3 Year

Total Cost

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

Total

$0.1

$0.1

$0.1

Non-

Recurring General

Fund

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Department of Health (DOH)

Regulation & Licensing (RLD)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of Bill

House Bill 754 adds a new section to the Liquor Control Act by prohibiting the issuance of a

new retail or restaurant liquor license within one-half mile of an inter-state highway in New

Mexico and by providing for transfer of a restaurant or retail licensed premise, including re-

imbursement of moving costs, if that premise is within one-half mile of an interstate highway.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

RLD states that the costs are unknown. This bill provides for reimbursement of moving expenses

for those licenses located with the one-half mile zone described in the bill. It is unknown at this

time how many licenses would be affected or what reasonable costs for re-location would be.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

Interstate 40 and Interstate 25 run through the heart of the city of Albuquerque and a number of

other cities and towns. In Albuquerque alone, numerous hotels and restaurants line the frontage

roads and sides of the highways. These businesses, as well as convenience stores would be

affected, and would be required to re-locate or sell their licenses under this bill. The economic

impact of this bill could run into the millions.

House Bill 754 – Page

2

DOH provided a 1996 study based on Metro Court data that found that only a small proportion,

2% of DWI arrests originated with drinking in restaurants, while the largest proportion, 45%

originated with drinking in bars and lounges.

There are precedents for efforts to reduce alcohol-related harm by controlling outlet proximity to

other types of establishments such as churches, schools, hospitals. Connecticut, Illinois, and

Michigan have passed such regulations. Research did not find a state which had enacted

regulations involving proximity to a roadway, including an interstate.

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

Processing the applications required to transfer all of the affected licenses would greatly increase

the workload of the Alcohol and Gaming Division.

DW/csd