The bill amends Section 3-7-26 of the General Laws in Chapter 3-7, titled "Retail Licenses," to prohibit certain practices by licensees who sell alcoholic beverages. It introduces new language to clarify that licensees cannot engage in practices such as offering drinks at a reduced price for buying more than one, increasing the volume of alcohol without a proportional price increase, selling an unlimited number of drinks for a fixed price during a set time, or allowing games or promotions that involve drinking or awarding alcoholic beverages as prizes. The bill also prohibits advertising or promoting happy hours, open bars, two-for-one nights, free drink specials, and the use of premises for organized pub crawls. However, it allows for free food or entertainment, inclusion of alcoholic beverages as part of a meal package, and free wine tastings. The bill specifies that adherence to these regulations is a condition for the issuance and continuation of licenses to sell alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises.

Additionally, the bill amends Section 3-8-14 of the General Laws in Chapter 3-8, titled "Regulation of Sales," by deleting language that specifically allowed the sale of aquardiente by the bottle for consumption on the premises due to ethnic tradition. Instead, it inserts language to generally authorize the sale of alcoholic beverages by the bottle for consumption on the premises. The bill states that the Department of Business Regulation shall adopt rules and regulations to this effect. The act would take effect upon passage.

Statutes affected:
7434: 3-7-26, 3-8-14