Local news- Press Release
New Jersey League of Municipalities New Jersey - Craft Brewery Bill Passes Committees 05 January 2024 ( news )
New Jersey League of Municipalities , state New Jersey ( By Press Release office)
Jan 05,2024
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On January 3 , the Senate
Budget and Appropriations Committee
and Assembly Appropriations committee favorably released
S - 4265
and
A - 5912
,
respectively . The
legislation
makes changes to the State’s
craft brewer
y
and retail license laws Th
e measure
includes several key revisions to existing laws
, including
the limited transfer of inactive licenses , issuance of special liquor license
s
for shopping
malls , relaxation
of certain craft brewery restrictions
,
and creat
ion of a
new Far
m
-
Brewery license
.
The League testified before both committees thanking the sponsors for taking steps to reform New Jersey’s antiquate
d liquor license laws but
questioning the
restrictions placed on transferring inactive licenses
.
The League is
co
ncern
ed
that the
bill’s
language will
not allow
inactive licenses
to fill
the void that currently exists with available liquor licenses in some towns . As written
,
the bill will only
permit
the transfer of inactive licenses to contiguous municipalities
,
not municipalities that may need
additional
licenses .
We have respectfully
requested
that the
S -
4265
/
A - 5912
be amended to remove the contiguous
factor
.
Summary of bill’s provisions:
Craft Alcoholic Beverage Manufacturers
.
The bill
defines craft manufacturers as holders of limited brewery licenses , cidery and
meadery
licenses , or craft distillery licenses .
Such license holders will be able to:
Serve and sell to customers tableside with servers/waitstaff who are certified
by a server training program
.
Serve their product for consumption
on - premises
in outdoor space approved by the municipality
.
O
ffer or
sell food
, including but not limited to , packaged crackers , chips , nuts
,
or similar snacks
,
along with non - alcoholic beverages .
Coordinate with a food vendor , including food trucks , for the sale of the food . The license holder cannot own or
operate
the food establishment .
Hold unlimited on - premises
special events
which
they can sell tickets to or charge a cover fee
for .
Hold up to 25 Social Affair
permitted
events at their location
.
Sell their products at a discount for promotional purposes
.
Show or display any televised program , including sports events
.
Farm - Brewery License
.
A - 5912
/
S - 4265
Introduces
a farm - brewery license , which allows the production and retail sale of malt alcoholic beverages off premises , with a production limit of 2 , 500 barrels per year . This license is available to breweries
located
on land under the licensee
’
s control , using locally sourced ingredients .
The
license holder can
provide
samples and sell
products
to customers for consumption off premise
s
.
P
rohibits the sale or offering of food on the licensed premises and sets a variable licensing fee based on production volume .
Inactive Plenary Retail Consumption Licenses
.
A - 5912
/
S - 4265
Mandates
that inactive Class C licenses , defined as plenary retail consumption licenses not actively used at an operating premises , will expire after two consecutive license terms . However , municipalities have the discretion to extend this period by an
additional
year .
Before their
expiration
,
inactive
licenses must either be actively
used , transferred
in a private sale
at
fair market value
, or transferred between municipalities .
Initially
,
transfers will be staggered based on
length
of inactivity over a
four - year period .
Transfers
between
municipalities must be for redevelopment , improvement , or
revitalization
and the municipalities must be
contiguous
. A
municipality that does not have any retail consumption license may issue a request for proposal to
acquire
an inactive
license
from
a
neighboring municipality .
The bill outlines the procedure for the request for proposals including a minimum $
25 , 000 transfer fee to t
he municipality
that
initially issued the license
. The transfer fee is paid by the license holder and deposited into the municipality’s general fund .
A municipality can
acquire
an inactive
license one license per calendar year but no more than two inactive licenses in a five - year period .
If a governing body chooses not to transfer an inactive license to a contiguous
municipality ,
they may issue a new Class C license at public sale .
Special Licenses in Municipalities with
shopping malls
: Under
A - 5912
/
S - 4265
, eligible municipalities are
permitted
to issue a limited number of special licenses for establishments in shopping malls , specifically for selling alcoholic beverages for onsite consumption . The quantity of these special licenses is
determined
by the size of the shopping mall: up to two licenses for malls with a minimum of
750 , 000 square feet
and up to four licenses for malls exceeding
1 . 5 million
square feet
. The licenses are intended for use in food and beverage establishments within these malls
.
A - 5912
/
S - 4265
is
scheduled for consideration in both the Senate and Assembly on January 8 .
Contact:
Lori Buckelew , Deputy Executive Director & Director of Government Affairs ,
lbuckelew@njlm . org
, 609 - 695 - 3481 , x112 .
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