ASSEMBLY, No. 1156

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 1996 SESSION

By Assemblymen COHEN and SULIGA

An Act concerning alcoholic beverage licenses, supplementing Title 33 of the Revised Statutes and amending R.S.33:1-31.

    Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

    1. (New section) a. If a licensed premises is found to be in violation of the certificate of occupancy or the "Uniform Fire Safety Act," P.L.1983, c.383 (C.52:27D-192 et seq.), or any rule or regulation promulgated pursuant thereto, the director or other issuing authority may suspend the license for not more than 90 days.

    b. If death or serious bodily injury occurs as a direct result of a violation of the certificate of occupancy issued for the licensed premises or the "Uniform Fire Safety Act," P.L.1983, c.383 (C.52:27D-192 et seq.), or any rule or regulation promulgated pursuant thereto, the following penalties shall be imposed:

    (1) in the case of serious bodily injury, the director or other issuing authority shall suspend the license for not less than six months or more than one year and impose a monetary penalty of not less than $10,000 or more than $100,000; and

    (2) in the case of death, the director or other issuing authority shall suspend the license for not less than one year or more than two years and impose a monetary penalty of not less than $100,000 or more than $300,000.

    2. R.S.33:1-31 is amended to read as follows:

    33:1-31. Any license, whether issued by the director or any other issuing authority, may be suspended or revoked by the director, or the other issuing authority may suspend or revoke any license issued by it, for any of the following causes:

    a. Violation of any of the provisions of this chapter;

    b. Manufacture, transportation, distribution or sale of alcoholic beverages in a manner or to an extent not permitted by the license or by law;

    c. Nonpayment of any excise tax or other payment required by law to be paid to the State Tax Commissioner;

    d. Failure to comply with any of the provisions of subtitle 8 of the Title Taxation (§54:41-1 et seq.);

    e. Failure to have at all times a valid, unrevoked permit, license or special tax stamp, or other indicia of payment, of all fees, taxes, penalties and payments required by any law of the United States;

    f. Failure to have at all times proper stamps or other proper evidence of payment of any tax required to be paid by any law of this State;

    g. Any violation of rules and regulations;

    h. Any violation of any ordinance, resolution or regulation of any other issuing authority or governing board or body;

    i. Any other act or happening, occurring after the time of making of an application for a license which if it had occurred before said time would have prevented the issuance of the license; or

    j. For any other cause designated by this chapter.

    The director or other issuing authority shall suspend the license in any instance where death or serious bodily injury has occurred pursuant to section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (now pending before the Legislature as this bill).

    No suspension or revocation of any license shall be made until a five-day notice of the charges preferred against the licensee shall have been given to him personally or by mailing the same by registered mail addressed to him at the licensed premises and a reasonable opportunity to be heard thereon afforded to him.

    A suspension or revocation of license shall be effected by a notice in writing of such suspension or revocation, designating the effective date thereof, and in case of suspension, the term of such suspension, which notice may be served upon the licensee personally or by mailing the same by registered mail addressed to him at the licensed premises. Such suspension or revocation shall apply to the licensee and to the licensed premises.

    A revocation shall render the licensee and the officers, directors and each owner, directly or indirectly, of more than 10% of the stock of a corporate licensee ineligible to hold or receive any other license, of any kind or class under this chapter, for a period of two years from the effective date of such revocation and a second revocation shall render the licensee and the officers, directors and each owner, directly or indirectly, of more than 10% of the stock of a corporate licensee ineligible to hold or receive any such license at any time thereafter. Any revocation may, in the discretion of the director or other issuing authority as the case may be, render the licensed premises ineligible to become the subject of any further license, of any kind or class under this chapter, during a period of two years from the effective date of the revocation.

    The director may, in his discretion and subject to rules and regulations, accept from any licensee an offer in compromise in such amount as may in the discretion of the director be proper under the circumstances in lieu of any suspension of any license by the director or any other issuing authority; provided however, the director shall not accept an offer in compromise in lieu of a suspension imposed pursuant to section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (now pending before the Legislature as this bill).

    No refund, except as expressly permitted by section 33:1-26 of this Title, shall be made of any portion of a license fee after issuance of a license; but if any licensee, except a seasonal retail consumption licensee, shall voluntarily surrender his license, there shall be returned to him, after deducting as a surrender fee 50% of the license fee paid by him, the prorated fee for the unexpired term; provided, that such licensee shall not have committed any violation of this chapter or of any rule or regulation or done anything which in the fair discretion of the director or other issuing authority, as the case may be, should bar or preclude such licensee from making such claim for refund and that all taxes and other set-offs or counterclaims which shall have accrued and shall have become due and payable to this State or any municipality, or both, have been paid. Such refund, if any, shall be made as of the date of such surrender. The surrender of a license shall not bar proceedings to revoke such license. The refusal of the other issuing authority to grant any refund hereunder shall be subject to appeal to the director within 30 days after notice of such refusal is mailed to or served upon the licensee. Surrenders of retail licenses shall be promptly certified by the issuing authority to the director. Surrender fees shall be accounted for as are investigation fees. If any licensee to whom a refund shall become due under the provisions of this section shall be indebted to the State of New Jersey for any taxes, penalties or interest by virtue of the provisions of subtitle 8 of the Title Taxation (§54:41-1 et seq.), it shall be the duty of the issuing authority before making any such refund, upon receipt of a certificate of the State Tax Commissioner evidencing the said indebtedness to the State of New Jersey, to deduct therefrom, and to remit forthwith to the State Tax Commissioner the amount of such taxes, penalties and interest.

    In the event of any suspension or revocation of any license by the other issuing authority, the licensee may, within 30 days after the date of service or of mailing of said notice of suspension or of revocation, upon payment to the director of a nonreturnable filing fee of $100.00, appeal to the director from the action of the other issuing authority in suspending or revoking such license which appeal shall act as a stay of such suspension or revocation pending the determination thereof unless the director shall otherwise order. When any person files with any other issuing authority written complaint against a licensee specifying charges and requesting that proceedings be instituted to revoke or suspend such license, he may appeal to the director from its refusal to revoke or suspend such license or other action taken by it in connection therewith within 30 days from the time of service upon or mailing of notice to him of such refusal or action. The director shall thereupon fix a time for the hearing of the appeal and before hearing the same shall give at least five days' notice of the time so fixed to such licensee, other issuing authority and appellant.

(cf: P.L.1992, c.188, s.11)

    3. This act shall take effect immediately and shall be applicable to all licenses issued or renewed on or after the effective date.

STATEMENT

    Under this bill, the Director of the Division of Alcoholic Beverages or other issuing authority could suspend for up to 90 days a license to serve alcoholic beverages if the licensed premises was found to be in violation of the certificate of occupancy or the Uniform Fire Safety Act or any rule or regulation promulgated under that act,

    If death or serious bodily injury occurred as a direct result of a violation of the certificate of occupancy issued for the licensed premises or any violation of the Uniform Fire Safety Act or any rule or regulation promulgated under that act, the following penalties would be imposed: (1) in the case of serious bodily injury, the director or other issuing authority would suspend the license for six months to one year and impose a monetary penalty of $10,000 to $100,000; and (2) in the case of death, the director or other issuing authority would suspend the license for one to two years and impose a monetary penalty of $100,000 to $300,000.

    Finally, under the provisions of this bill, the director could not accept an monetary offer in lieu of a suspension imposed pursuant to the bill. Under current law, the director may accept from any licensee a monetary offer in lieu of a license suspension in an amount that he deems proper under the circumstances.

Provides for license revocation and monetary penalties for occupancy and fire code violations by certain alcoholic beverage licensees.