An Act concerning alcoholic beverage licenses and amending R.S.33:1-25 and R.S.33:1-26.

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

1. R.S.33:1-25 is amended to read as follows:

33:1-25. No license of any class shall be issued to any person under the age of 18 years or to any person who has been convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude. A beneficiary of a trust who is not otherwise disqualified to hold an interest in a license may qualify regardless of age so long as the trustee of the trust qualifies and the trustee shall hold the beneficiary's interest in trust until the beneficiary is at least the age of majority.

Each applicant shall submit to the director the applicant's name, address, fingerprints and written consent for a criminal history record background check to be performed. The director is authorized to receive criminal history record information from the State Bureau of Identification in the Division of State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation consistent with applicable State and federal laws, rules and regulations. The applicant shall bear the cost for the criminal history record background check, including all costs of administering and processing the check. The Division of State Police shall promptly notify the director in the event a current holder of a license or prospective applicant, who was the subject of a criminal history record background check pursuant to this section, is arrested for a crime or offense in this State after the date the background check was performed.

In applications by corporations, except for club licenses, the names and addresses of, and the amount of stock held by, all stockholders holding 1% or more of any of the stock thereof, and the names and addresses of all officers and of all members of the board of directors must be stated in the application, and if one or more of the officers or members of the board of directors or one or more of the owners, directly or indirectly, of more than 10% of the stock would fail to qualify as an individual applicant in all respects, no license of any class shall be granted.

In applications for club licenses, the names and addresses of all officers, trustees, directors, or other governing official, together with the names and addresses of all members of the corporation, association or organization, must be stated in the application.

In applications by partnerships, the application shall contain the names and addresses of all of the partners. No license shall be issued unless all of the partners would qualify as individual applicants.

A photostatic copy of all federal permits necessary to the lawful conduct of the business for which a State license is sought and which relate to alcoholic beverages, or other evidence in lieu thereof satisfactory to the director, must accompany the license application, together with a deposit of the full amount of the required license fee, which deposit to the extent of 90% thereof shall be returned to the applicant by the director or other issuing authority if the application is denied, and the remaining 10% shall constitute an investigation fee and be accounted for as other license fees.

Every applicant for a license that is not a renewal of an annual license shall cause a notice of the making of the application to be published in a form prescribed by rules and regulations, once per week for two weeks successively in a newspaper printed in the English language, published and circulated in the municipality in which the licensed premises are located; but if there shall be no such newspaper, then the notice shall be published in a newspaper, printed in the English language, published and circulated in the county in which the licensed premises are located. In addition, the applicant shall notify by regular mail any person who resides within 200 feet of the licensed premises if such premises are located within this State. No publication or notice shall be required with respect to applications for transportation or public warehouse licenses or with respect to applications for renewal of licenses.

The Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control shall cause a general notice of the making of annual renewal applications and the manner in which members of the public may object to the approving of the applications to be published in a form prescribed by rules and regulations, once per week from the week of April 1 through the week of June 1 in a newspaper printed in the English language published and circulated in the counties in which the premises of applicants for renewals of annual licenses are located. Any application for the renewal of an annual license shall be made by May 1, and none shall be approved before May 1.

Every person filing an application for license, renewal of license or transfer of license with a municipal issuing authority shall, within 10 days of such filing, file with the director a copy of the application together with a nonreturnable filing fee of $200.

Applicants for licenses shall answer questions as may be asked and make declarations as shall be required by the form of application for license as may be promulgated by the director from time to time. All applications shall be duly sworn to by each of the applicants, except in the case of applicants in the military service of the United States whose applications may be signed in their behalf by an attorney-in-fact holding a power of attorney in form approved by the director, and except in cases of applications by corporations which shall be duly sworn to by the president or vice-president. All statements in the applications required to be made by law or by rules and regulations shall be deemed material, and any person who shall knowingly misstate any material fact, under oath, in the application shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. Fraud, misrepresentation, false statements, misleading statements, evasions or suppression of material facts in the securing of a license are grounds for suspension or revocation of the license.

The provisions of section 26 of P.L.2003, c.117 amendatory of this section shall apply to licenses issued or transferred on or after July 1, 2003, and to license renewals commencing on or after July 1, 2003.

(cf: P.L.2008, c.56, s.1)

2. R.S.33:1-26 is amended to read as follows:

33:1-26. All licenses shall be for a term of one year from July 1 in each year. The respective fees for any such license shall be prorated according to the effective date of the license and based on the respective annual fee as in this chapter provided. Where the license fee deposited with the application exceeds the prorated fee, a refund of the excess shall be made to the licensee. Licenses are not transferable except as hereinafter provided. A separate license is required for each specific place of business and the operation and effect of every license is confined to the licensed premises. No retail license of any class shall be issued to any holder of a manufacturer's or wholesaler's license, and no manufacturer's or wholesaler's license shall be issued to the holder of a retail license of any class. Any person who shall exercise or attempt to exercise, or hold himself out as authorized to exercise, the rights and privileges of a licensee except the licensee and then only with respect to the licensed premises, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

In case of death, bankruptcy, receivership or incompetency of the licensee, or if for any other reason whatsoever the operation of the business covered by the license shall devolve by operation of law upon a person other than the licensee, the director or the issuing authority may, in his or its discretion, extend the license for a limited time, not exceeding its term, to the executor, administrator, trustee, receiver or other person upon whom the same has devolved by operation of law as aforesaid. Under no circumstances, however, shall a license, or rights thereunder, be deemed property, subject to inheritance, sale, pledge, lien, levy, attachment, execution, seizure for debts, or any other transfer or disposition whatsoever, except for payment of taxes, fees, interest and penalties imposed by any State tax law for which a lien may attach pursuant to R.S.54:49-1 or pursuant to the State Uniform Tax Procedure Law, R.S.54:48-1 et seq., or any similar State lien of tax, except to the extent expressly provided by this chapter.

On application made therefor setting forth the same matters and things with reference to the premises to which a transfer of license is sought as are required to be set forth in connection with an original application for license, as to the premises, and after publication of notice of intention to apply for transfer and notice by regular mail to any person who resides within 200 feet of the licensed premises if such premises are located within this State , in the same manner as is required in case of an application for license as to the premises, the director or other issuing authority may transfer, upon payment of a fee of 10% of the annual license fee for the license sought to be transferred, any license issued by him or it respectively to a different place of business than that specified therein, by endorsing permission upon the license.

On application made therefor setting forth the same matters and things with reference to the person to whom a transfer of license is sought as are required to be set forth in connection with an original application for license, which application for transfer shall be signed and sworn to by the person to whom the transfer of license is sought and shall bear the consent in writing of the licensee to the transfer, and after publication of notice of intention by the person to whom the transfer of license is sought and notice by regular mail to any person who resides within 200 feet of the licensed premises if such premises are located within this State , to apply for transfer in the same manner as is required in the case of an original application for license, the director or other issuing authority, as the case may be, may transfer any license issued by him or it respectively to the applicant for transfer by endorsing the license. The application and the applicant shall comply with all requirements of this chapter pertaining to an original application for license and shall be accompanied, in lieu of the license fee required on the original application, by a fee of 10% of the annual license fee for the license sought to be transferred, which 10% shall be retained by the director or other issuing authority, as the case may be, whether the transfer be granted or not, and accounted for as other license fees.

If the other issuing authority shall refuse to grant a transfer the applicant shall be notified forthwith of the refusal by a notice served personally upon the applicant, or sent to him by registered mail addressed to him at the address stated in the application, and the applicant may, within 30 days after the date of service or mailing of the notice, appeal to the director from the action of the issuing authority. If the other issuing authority shall grant a transfer, any taxpayer or other aggrieved person opposing the grant of the transfer may, within 30 days after the grant of the transfer, appeal to the director from the action of the issuing authority.

No person who would fail to qualify as a licensee under this chapter shall be knowingly employed by or connected in any business capacity whatsoever with a licensee. A person failing to qualify as to age or by reason of conviction of a crime involving moral turpitude may, with the approval of the director, and subject to rules and regulations, be employed by any licensee, but the employee if disqualified by age shall not, in any manner whatsoever serve, sell or solicit the sale or participate in the manufacture, rectification, blending, treating, fortification, mixing, processing or bottling of any alcoholic beverage; and further provided, that no permit shall be necessary for the employment in a bona fide hotel or restaurant of any person failing to qualify as to age so long as the person shall not in any manner whatsoever serve, sell or solicit the sale of any alcoholic beverage, or participate in the mixing, processing or preparation thereof. Except for a person convicted of a sex offense as enumerated in subsection b. of N.J.S.2C:7-2 or a person convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude committed while employed on a licensed premises, a person who has been convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude may be employed by a Class C licensee without obtaining the approval of the director or a rehabilitation employment permit provided the person's responsibilities do not involve serving, selling or soliciting the sale of any alcoholic beverage; participating in the mixing, processing or preparation of alcoholic beverages; providing private security or admission-monitoring services for the premises; or providing or participating in any management or professional services.

Each person seeking to be employed or connected in any business capacity whatsoever with a licensee shall submit to the director the applicant's name, address, fingerprints and written consent for a criminal history record background check to be performed. The director is authorized to receive criminal history record information from the State Bureau of Identification in the Division of State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation consistent with applicable State and federal laws, rules and regulations. The applicant shall bear the cost for the criminal history record background check, including all costs of administering and processing the check. The Division of State Police shall promptly notify the director in the event a current holder of a license or prospective applicant, who was the subject of a criminal history record background check pursuant to this section, is arrested for a crime or offense in this State after the date the background check was performed.

Any request for relief under this section shall be accompanied by a nonreturnable filing fee of $100.00 payable to the director.

(cf: P.L.2012, c.32, s.1)

3. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill requires applicants for State and municipal issued alcoholic beverage licenses, with the exception of transportation or public warehouse licenses, to notify by regular mail any person who resides within 200 feet of the licensed premises if it is located in New Jersey. Under current law, applicants are required to have a notice of the application published once per week for two weeks in a newspaper published and circulated in the municipality where the licensed premises are to be located. If there is no newspaper in the municipality, the notice is to be published in a newspaper in the county in which the licensed premises are located. Since newspaper publication is not required for applications for transportation or public warehouse licenses, applicants for those licenses are exempted from the notice requirement in this bill.

Also, the bill requires notice by regular mail to any person who resides within 200 feet of the licensed premises in the case of person to person and place to place transfers of alcoholic beverage licenses. These transfers are subject to similar newspaper publication requirements.