Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

H.B. 322
                          GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
                                                                                              Mar 17, 2021
                                      SESSION 2021                                       HOUSE PRINCIPAL CLERK
     H                                                                                                  D
                                   HOUSE BILL DRH40193-MCf-116
     Short Title:   Limit ABC License Requirements.                                                (Local)
     Sponsors:      Representatives Adcock, Dahle, von Haefen, and Ball (Primary Sponsors).
     Referred to:
                                    A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 AN ACT TO ELIMINATE THE REQUIREMENT ON THE TOWN OF CARY TO ISSUE
     LOCAL ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE LICENSES.
 The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
             SECTION 1. G.S. 105-113.70(a) reads as rewritten:
     "(a) Issuance, Qualifications. – Each person who receives an ABC permit shall obtain the
 corresponding local license, if any, under this Article. All local licenses are issued by the city or
 county where the establishment for which the license is sought is located. No documentation
 shall be required of the applicant except as provided in this section. Issuance of a required local
 license is mandatory if the applicant holds the corresponding ABC permit and provides all of the
 following: (i) a copy of the most recently completed State application form for an ABC permit
 exclusive of any attachments, (ii) the ABC permit for visual inspection, and (iii) payment of the
 prescribed tax. No local license may be issued under this Article until the applicant has received
 from the ABC Commission the applicable permit for that activity, and no county license may be
 issued for an establishment located in a city in that county until the applicant has received from
 the city the applicable license for that activity.activity; provided, the city in that county has not
 declined to require a license pursuant to G.S. 105-113.71(c)."
             SECTION 2. G.S. 105-113.71 reads as rewritten:
 "§ 105-113.71. Local government may refuse to issue Nonissuance of license.
     (a)     Refusal to Issue. – Notwithstanding G.S. 105-113.70, the governing board of a city
 or county may refuse to issue a license if it finds that the applicant committed any act or permitted
 any activity in the preceding year that would be grounds for suspension or revocation of his
 permit under G.S. 18B-104. Before denying the license, the governing board shall give the
 applicant an opportunity to appear at a hearing before the board and to offer evidence. The
 applicant shall be given at least 10 days' notice of the hearing. At the conclusion of the hearing
 the board shall make written findings of fact based on the evidence at the hearing. The applicant
 may appeal the denial of a license to the superior court for that county, if notice of appeal is given
 within 10 days of the denial.
     (b)     Local Unfortified Wine Exceptions. – The governing bodies of the following counties
 and cities in their discretion may decline to issue on-premises unfortified wine licenses: the
 counties of Alamance, Alexander, Ashe, Avery, Chatham, Clay, Duplin, Granville, Greene,
 Haywood, Jackson, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Montgomery, Nash, Pender, Randolph,
 Robeson, Sampson, Transylvania, Vance, Watauga, Wilkes, Yadkin; any city within any of those
 counties; and the cities of Greensboro, Aulander, Pink Hill, and Zebulon.
     (c)     General Exception. – The governing bodies of the municipalities listed in this
 subsection may decline requiring a person who receives an ABC permit to obtain the
                                  *DRH40193-MCf-116*
     General Assembly Of North Carolina                                                                         Session 2021
 corresponding local license from the municipality to engage in the activity authorized by the
 ABC permit: the Town of Cary."
             SECTION 3. G.S. 105-113.77(a) reads as rewritten:
     "(a) License and Tax. – A Except in cities declining to require a license pursuant to
 G.S. 105-113.71(c), a person holding any of the following retail ABC permits for an
 establishment located in a city shall obtain from the city a city license for that activity. The annual
 tax for each license is as stated.
         ABC Permit                                                            Tax for Corresponding License
         On-premises malt beverage                                                                                    $15.00
         Off-premises malt beverage                                                                                       5.00
         On-premises unfortified wine,
           on-premises fortified wine, or both ......................................................................... 15.00
         Off-premises unfortified wine,
           off-premises fortified wine, or both ...................................................................... 10.00"
             SECTION 4. This act becomes effective July 1, 2021.
     Page 2                                                                                          DRH40193-MCf-116
Statutes affected: 
Filed: 105-113.70, 105-113.71, 105-113.77
Edition 1: 105-113.70, 105-113.71, 105-113.77