House Bill No. 5225
House Bill No. 5225
PUBLIC ACT NO. 98-236
AN ACT CONCERNING THE RETAIL SALE OF BEER IN KEGS
AND MANUFACTURER PERMITS FOR APPLE BRANDY AND
EAU-DE-VIE, AND PROHIBITING THE SALE OF ALCOHOLIC
LIQUOR FROM DRIVE-UP WINDOWS.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of
Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (a) As used in this section,
"keg" means any brewery-sealed individual
container of beer having a liquid capacity of six
gallons or more.
(b) Any holder of a package store permit or a
grocery store beer permit under section 30-20 of
the general statutes that sells kegs for
consumption off the permit premises shall, at the
time of sale, (1) place an identification tag on
all kegs sold by the permittee, (2) require each
purchaser of any such keg to sign a receipt for
the keg, and (3) inform such purchaser that any
deposit paid by the purchaser for the keg, if
required, shall be forfeited if the keg is
returned without the original identification tag
intact and readable.
(c) (1) The identification tag required under
subdivision (1) of subsection (b) of this section
shall be in the form of a numbered label,
prescribed and furnished by the department, that
clearly identifies the seller of the keg. Such
tags shall be fabricated and made attachable in
such a manner as to make the tag easily removable
by a beer manufacturer for the purpose of cleaning
and reusing the keg.
(2) The receipt required under subdivision
(2) of subsection (b) of this section shall be on
a form prescribed and furnished by the department
and shall include the name, address and signature
of the purchaser of the keg and the purchaser's
motor vehicle operator's license number or such
other identifying information as the department
may prescribe by regulation under section 30-6a of
the general statutes. The permittee shall retain a
copy of all such receipts on the permit premises
for a period of six months. Such receipts shall be
available for inspection and copying by the
department or any authorized criminal justice
agency.
(3) The information required under
subdivision (3) of subsection (b) of this section
may be given verbally to each purchaser of a keg
or may be provided by means of a sign
conspicuously posted at the point of sale in such
form and containing such disclosures as the
department may require by regulation under section
30-6a of the general statutes.
(4) The department may charge a reasonable
fee for furnishing the forms required by
subdivisions (1) and (2) of this subsection, not
to exceed the actual cost of furnishing such
forms.
(d) No holder of a package store permit or a
grocery store beer permit under section 30-20 of
the general statutes may refund any deposit upon
the return of any keg that (1) does not have an
identification tag required under subdivision (1)
of subsection (b) of this section or (2) has an
identification tag that has been defaced to the
extent that the information contained on the tag
cannot be read.
(e) The violation by any holder of a package
store permit or a grocery store beer permit under
section 30-20 of the general statutes of any
provision of this section shall be cause for
revocation or suspension of such permit under
section 30-55 of the general statutes, as amended
by section 7 of public act 97-175.
Sec. 2. (NEW) (a) Any person who possesses any
keg containing beer that is required to have an
identification tag pursuant to section 1 of this
act, knowing that such keg does not have such
required identification tag, shall be guilty of a
class C misdemeanor. This subsection shall not
apply to any manufacturer, shipper, wholesaler or
retail seller of beer, or to any person who finds
a discarded keg containing beer on such person's
property.
(b) Any person who purchases any keg
containing beer and who knowingly provides false
information on any receipt required by section 1
of this act at the time of such purchase shall be
guilty of a class C misdemeanor.
Sec. 3. Subsection (a) of section 30-46 of the
general statutes, as amended by section 5 of
public act 97-175, is repealed and the following
is substituted in lieu thereof:
(a) The Department of Consumer Protection
may, except as to a store engaged chiefly in the
sale of groceries, in its discretion, suspend,
revoke or refuse to grant or renew a permit for
the sale of alcoholic liquor if it has reasonable
cause to believe: (1) That the proximity of the
permit premises will have a detrimental effect
upon any church, public or parochial school,
convent, charitable institution, whether supported
by private or public funds, hospital or veterans'
home or any camp, barracks or flying field of the
armed forces; (2) that such location is in such
proximity to a no-permit town that it is apparent
that the applicant is seeking to obtain the
patronage of such town; (3) that the number of
permit premises in the locality is such that the
granting of a permit is detrimental to the public
interest, and, in reaching a conclusion in this
respect, the department may consider the character
of, the population of, the number of like permits
and number of all permits existent in, the
particular town and the immediate neighborhood
concerned, the effect which a new permit may have
on such town or neighborhood or on like permits
existent in such town or neighborhood; (4) that
the place has been conducted as a lewd or
disorderly establishment; (5) that the backer does
not have a right to occupy the permit premises;
[or] (6) THAT DRIVE-UP SALES OF ALCOHOLIC LIQUOR
ARE BEING MADE AT THE PERMIT PREMISES; OR (7) that
there is any other reason as provided by state or
federal law or regulation which warrants such
refusal.
Sec. 4. Section 30-74 of the general statutes
is repealed and the following is substituted in
lieu thereof:
(a) The sale of alcoholic liquor, except as
permitted by this chapter, AS AMENDED BY THIS ACT,
is prohibited, and any person or permittee who
keeps or operates any bar or establishment which
is a place where alcoholic liquor is kept for sale
or exchange contrary to law shall be liable to the
penalties provided in section 30-113.
(b) The sale, distribution or dispensing of
alcoholic liquor without a permit issued under the
provisions of this chapter, AS AMENDED BY THIS
ACT, in any premises, building, apartment or other
place used by any club, association, social or
fraternal society or organization to the members
thereof, their guests or other persons shall be
unlawful. Any officer, agent or employee of any
club, association, social or fraternal society or
organization without such a permit, who dispenses
or permits to be dispensed, to or by its members,
guests or other persons, any alcoholic liquor
shall be subject to the penalties provided in
section 30-113.
(c) NO PERMITTEE OR BACKER WHO IS AUTHORIZED
UNDER THIS CHAPTER, AS AMENDED BY THIS ACT, TO
SELL ALCOHOLIC LIQUOR AT RETAIL FOR CONSUMPTION
OFF THE PERMIT PREMISES, AND NO AGENT OR EMPLOYEE
OF SUCH PERMITTEE OR BACKER, MAY SELL OR DELIVER
SUCH ALCOHOLIC LIQUOR FROM A DRIVE-UP WINDOW OR
SIMILAR EXTERIOR WALL OPENING.
Sec. 5. Subsection (d) of section 30-16 of the
general statutes is repealed and the following is
substituted in lieu thereof:
(d) A manufacturer permit for apple brandy AND
EAU-DE-VIE shall be in all respects the same as a
manufacturer permit, except that the scope of
operations of the holder shall be limited to apple
brandy OR EAU-DE-VIE, OR BOTH. The annual fee for
a manufacturer permit for apple brandy AND
EAU-DE-VIE shall be three hundred twenty dollars.
Sec. 6. This act shall take effect from its
passage, except that sections 3 and 4 shall take
effect October 1, 1998, and sections 1 and 2 shall
take effect January 1, 1999.
Approved June 8, 1998