House Bill 976

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 67-1-51, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO AUTHORIZE HOLDERS OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE PACKAGE RETAILER'S PERMITS TO SELL PACKAGED CHEESE, PACKAGED CRACKERS, CLOTH AND PAPER NAPKINS, DECORATIVE CORKS AND WINE GLASS CHARMS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. Section 67-1-51, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

67-1-51. (1) Permits which may be issued by the commission shall be as follows:

(a) Manufacturer's permit. A manufacturer's permit shall permit the manufacture, importation in bulk, bottling and storage of alcoholic liquor and its distribution and sale to manufacturers holding permits under this chapter in this state and to persons outside the state who are authorized by law to purchase the same, and to sell exclusively to the commission. Manufacturer's permits shall be of the following classes:

Class 1. Distiller's and/or rectifier's permit, which shall authorize the holder thereof to operate a distillery for the production of distilled spirits by distillation or redistillation and/or to operate a rectifying plant for the purifying, refining, mixing, blending, flavoring or reducing in proof of distilled spirits and alcohol.

Class 2. Wine manufacturer's permit, which shall authorize the holder thereof to manufacture, import in bulk, bottle and store wine or vinous liquor.

Class 3. Native wine producer's permit, which shall authorize the holder thereof to produce, bottle, store and sell native wines.

(b) Package retailer's permit. Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph, a package retailer's permit shall authorize the holder thereof to operate a store exclusively for the sale at retail in original sealed and unopened packages of alcoholic beverages, including native wines, not to be consumed on the premises where sold. Alcoholic beverages shall not be sold by any retailer in any package or container containing less than fifty (50) milliliters by liquid measure. In addition to the sale at retail of packages of alcoholic beverages, the holder of a package retailer's permit is authorized to sell at retail corkscrews, wine glasses, soft drinks, ice, juices, mixers and other beverages commonly used to mix with alcoholic beverages, packaged cheese, packaged crackers, cloth and paper napkins, decorative corks and wine glass charms. Nonalcoholic beverages sold by the holder of a package retailer's permit shall not be consumed on the premises where sold.

(c) On-premises retailer's permit. An on-premises retailer's permit shall authorize the sale of alcoholic beverages, including native wines, for consumption on the licensed premises only. Such a permit shall issue only to qualified hotels, restaurants and clubs, and to common carriers with adequate facilities for serving passengers. In resort areas, whether inside or outside of a municipality, the commission may, in its discretion, issue on-premises retailer's permits to such establishments as it deems proper. An on-premises retailer's permit when issued to a common carrier shall authorize the sale and serving of alcoholic beverages aboard any licensed vehicle while moving through any county of the state; however, the sale of such alcoholic beverages shall not be permitted while such vehicle is stopped in a county that has not legalized such sales.

(d) Solicitor's permit. A solicitor's permit shall authorize the holder thereof to act as salesman for a manufacturer or wholesaler holding a proper permit, to solicit on behalf of his employer orders for alcoholic beverages, and to otherwise promote his employer's products in a legitimate manner. Such a permit shall authorize the representation of and employment by one (1) principal only. However, the permittee may also, in the discretion of the commission, be issued additional permits to represent other principals. No such permittee shall buy or sell alcoholic beverages for his own account, and no such beverage shall be brought into this state in pursuance of the exercise of such permit otherwise than through a permit issued to a wholesaler or manufacturer in the state.

(e) Native wine retailer's permit. A native wine retailer's permit shall be issued only to a holder of a Class 3 manufacturer's permit, and shall authorize the holder thereof to make retail sales of native wines to consumers for on-premises consumption or to consumers in originally sealed and unopened containers at an establishment located on the premises of or in the immediate vicinity of a native winery.

(f) Temporary retailer's permit. A temporary retailer's permit shall permit the purchase and resale of alcoholic beverages, including native wines, during legal hours on the premises described in the temporary permit only.

Temporary retailer's permits shall be of the following classes:

Class 1. A temporary one-day permit may be issued to bona fide nonprofit civic or charitable organizations authorizing the sale of alcoholic beverages, including native wine, for consumption on the premises described in the temporary permit only. Class 1 permits may be issued only to applicants demonstrating to the commission, by affidavit submitted ten (10) days prior to the proposed date or such other time as the commission may determine, that they meet the qualifications of Sections 67-1-11, 67-1-37, 67-1-51(2) and (3), 67-1-55, 67-1-57 (excluding paragraph (e)) and 67-1-59. Class 1 permittees shall obtain all alcoholic beverages from package retailers located in the county in which the temporary permit is issued. Alcoholic beverages remaining in stock upon expiration of the temporary permit may be returned by the permittee to the package retailer for a refund of the purchase price upon consent of the package retailer or may be kept by the permittee exclusively for personal use and consumption, subject to all laws pertaining to the illegal sale and possession of alcoholic beverages. The commission, following review of the affidavit and the requirements of the applicable statutes and regulations, may issue the permit.

Class 2. A temporary permit, not to exceed seventy (70) days, may be issued to prospective permittees seeking to transfer a permit authorized in either paragraph (b) or (c) of this section. A Class 2 permit may be issued only to applicants demonstrating to the commission, by affidavit, that they meet the qualifications of Sections 67-1-5(l), (m), (n), (o), (p) or (q), 67-1-37, 67-1-51(2) and (3), 67-1-55, 67-1-57 and 67-1-59. The commission, following a preliminary review of the affidavit and the requirements of the applicable statutes and regulations, may issue the permit.

Class 2 temporary permittees must purchase their alcoholic beverages directly from the commission or, with approval of the commission, purchase the remaining stock of the previous permittee. If the proposed applicant of a Class 1 or Class 2 temporary permit falsifies information contained in the application or affidavit, the applicant shall never again be eligible for a retail alcohol beverage permit and shall be subject to prosecution for perjury.

(g) Caterer's permit. A caterer's permit shall permit the purchase of alcoholic beverages by a person engaging in business as a caterer and the resale of alcoholic beverages by such person in conjunction with such catering business. No person shall qualify as a caterer unless forty percent (40%) or more of the revenue derived from such catering business shall be from the serving of prepared food and not from the sale of alcoholic beverages and unless such person has obtained a permit for such business from the Department of Health. A caterer's permit shall not authorize the sale of alcoholic beverages on the premises of the person engaging in business as a caterer; however, the holder of an on-premises retailer's permit may hold a caterer's permit. All sales of alcoholic beverages by holders of a caterer's permit shall be made at the location being catered by the caterer, and such sales may be made only for consumption at the catered location. Such sales shall be made pursuant to any other conditions and restrictions which apply to sales made by on-premises retail permittees. The holder of a caterer's permit or his employees shall remain at the catered location as long as alcoholic beverages are being sold pursuant to the permit issued under this paragraph (g), and the permittee and employees at such location shall each have personal identification cards issued by the Alcoholic Beverage Control Division of the commission. No unsold alcoholic beverages may be left at the catered location by the permittee upon the conclusion of his business at that location. Appropriate law enforcement officers and Alcoholic Beverage Control Division personnel may enter a catered location on private property in order to enforce laws governing the sale or serving of alcoholic beverages.

(h) Research Permit. A research permit shall authorize the holder thereof to operate a research facility for the professional research of alcoholic beverages. Such permit shall authorize the holder of the permit to import and purchase limited amounts of alcoholic beverages from the commission or from importers, wineries and distillers of alcoholic beverages for professional research.

(i) Alcohol processing permit. An alcohol processing permit shall authorize the holder thereof to purchase, transport and possess alcoholic beverages for the exclusive use in cooking, processing or manufacturing products which contain alcoholic beverages as an integral ingredient. An alcohol processing permit shall not authorize the sale of alcoholic beverages on the premises of the person engaging in the business of cooking, processing or manufacturing products which contain alcoholic beverages. The amounts of alcoholic beverages allowed under an alcohol processing permit shall be set by the commission.

(2) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (4) of this section, retail permittees may hold more than one (1) retail permit, at the discretion of the commission.

(3) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, no authority shall be granted to any person to manufacture, sell or store for sale any intoxicating liquor as specified in this chapter within four hundred (400) feet of any church, school, kindergarten or funeral home. However, within an area zoned commercial or business, such minimum distance shall be not less than one hundred (100) feet.

A church or funeral home may waive the distance restrictions imposed in this subsection in favor of allowing issuance by the commission of a permit, pursuant to subsection (1) of this section, to authorize activity relating to the manufacturing, sale or storage of alcoholic beverages which would otherwise be prohibited under the minimum distance criterion. Such waiver shall be in written form from the owner, the governing body, or the appropriate officer of the church or funeral home having the authority to execute such a waiver, and the waiver shall be filed with and verified by the commission before becoming effective.

The distance restrictions imposed in this subsection shall not apply to the sale or storage of alcoholic beverages at a bed and breakfast inn listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

(4) No person, either individually or as a member of a firm, partnership or association, or as a stockholder, officer or director in a corporation, shall own or control any interest in more than one (1) package retailer's permit, nor shall such person's spouse, if living in the same household of such person, any relative of such person, if living in the same household of such person, or any other person living in the same household with such person own any interest in any other package retailer's permit.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2004.