This bill seeks to remove the current cap on the number of plenary retail distribution licenses that certain retail food stores can hold in New Jersey. It allows individuals to obtain additional licenses for stores where grocery sales make up at least 65% of total sales or where alcoholic beverage sales constitute at least 90% of sales. The legislation introduces a phased approach to increase the number of licenses an individual can hold, starting with a maximum of four licenses after 25 months and increasing to six licenses after 73 months. Additionally, it provides exemptions for license holders acquiring additional licenses for stores located in urban food deserts.

The bill also revises existing legal language concerning license fees, stipulating that the fee for a plenary retail consumption license cannot fluctuate by more than 20% from the previous year. It establishes a new license transfer fee of 10% of the purchase price for plenary retail distribution licenses when transferred to a licensee with multiple licenses, although this fee is waived for licenses acquired for use in urban food deserts. Importantly, while the bill allows for an increase in the number of licenses an individual can hold, it maintains the existing limit on the total number of licenses a municipality can issue based on its population.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 33:1-12.31