[First Reprint]

SENATE, No. 770

 

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

 

INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 15, 1996

 

 

By Senator BUBBA

 

 

An Act concerning certain alcoholic beverage penalties, 1and1 amending R.S.33:1-31 and P.L.1992, c.188 1[and supplementing Title 33 of the Revised Statutes]1.

 

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

 

    1. 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.

    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. If the license suspension was issued by a municipal issuing authority 1[in a municipality which has enacted an ordinance pursuant to section 3 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (now pending before the Legislature as this bill) establishing a surcharge on payments made to the director pursuant to this section]1, the director shall 1[impose a surcharge of] forward1 20 percent of such payment 1[which shall be paid by the licensee to the director in addition to the payment in lieu of suspension. The director shall forward the surcharge]1 to that municipality to be used for law enforcement purposes.

    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)

 

    2. Section 14 of P.L.1992, c.188 (C.33:1-4.1) is amended to read as follows:

    14. All fees and penalties collected by the Director of the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control pursuant to the provisions of Title 33 of the Revised Statutes, except 1for 20 percent of certain payments in lieu of a license suspension1 as provided in R.S.33:1-31, shall be forwarded to the State Treasurer for deposit in a special nonlapsing fund. Monies in the fund shall be used exclusively for the operation of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Enforcement Bureau in the Division of State Police and the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control and for reimbursement of all additional costs of enforcement of the provisions of Title 33 incurred by the Department of Law and Public Safety.

(cf: P.L.1992, c.188, s.14)

 

    1[3. (New section) A muncipality may enact an ordinance providing that a surcharge shall be assessed on a retail licensee in any case where a municipal issuing authority issued a license suspension, and the director accepts from that licensee an offer in compromise in lieu of suspension pursuant to R.S.33:1-31. The surcharge shall be 20 percent of any monies paid to the director in lieu of a license suspension. The surcharge shall be allocated to that municipality to be used for law enforcement purposes.]1

 

    1[4.] 3.1 This act shall take effect immediately.

 

 

 

Requires 20 percent of certain alcoholic beverage penalties to be forwarded to municipality.