Makes permanent temporary enactment allowing certain sale and delivery of alcoholic beverages and clarifies privileges.**
What changed between versions
The bill's scope expanded from amending only R.S.33:1-10 and R.S.33:1-12 (pandemic delivery provisions) to amending 'various parts of the statutory law,' reflecting a much broader legislative purpose centered on inactive license management.
The original statement describing the bill's purpose (making permanent P.L.2020, c.33 pandemic provisions for retail delivery and craft distillery privileges) was removed, consistent with the shift in legislative focus.
New section 4 establishes that Class C licenses not actively used for two consecutive license terms shall expire, unless the municipal governing body extends the period by one additional year at its discretion.
Before expiration, inactive licenses must be either actively used by the holder, transferred in a private transaction for fair market value to someone who will actively use it, or transferred between municipalities under P.L.2023, c.290 section 3.
An exception allows automatic extension of two additional license terms if the licensee was deprived of use due to eminent domain, fire, or other casualty and files an affidavit showing good faith effort to resume active use.
Municipal governing bodies holding inactive plenary retail consumption licenses for use in redevelopment, improvement, or revitalization areas are exempt from the expiration requirement.
A phased schedule requires the director to divide previously inactive plenary retail consumption licenses into quartiles by length of inactivity and transfer them within one, two, three, or four years of the effective date of P.L.2023, c.290.
A nonreturnable filing fee of $100 is required for any request for relief under the new inactive license provisions.
