STATEMENT TO

SENATE, No. 2160

with Senate Floor Amendments

(Proposed by Senator SARLO)

ADOPTED: DECEMBER 18, 2025

      Senate Bill No. 2160 allows a person who held a seasonal retail consumption license to sell alcoholic beverages prior to the bill’s effective date to surrender the license to the issuing authority, which then would be required to exchange the license for a plenary retail consumption license.  This license will permit the licensee to sell alcoholic beverages for consumption on the licensed premises throughout the entire year. Under the bill, a person who exchanges a seasonal retail consumption license would have the same privileges and be entitled to sell alcoholic beverages during the same times and days as other plenary retail consumption license holders in the same municipality. 

      As introduced, the bill established a fee to convert a seasonal license which would be based upon the average sales price of plenary retail consumption licenses in the municipality, but not greater than $250,000.  These amendments revise that calculation and require the fee to be based on 43 percent of the average sales price of plenary retail consumption licenses in certain circumstances.  The amendments further provide that the fee is instead to be set at a flat rate of $250,000 in the following cases:

      (1) the sales price of a plenary retail consumption license required to be used in this section to determine the average sales price is not known or cannot be determined because the license was sold co-mingled with other assets as part of a bulk sale;

      (2) less than three plenary retail consumption licenses have been sold in the municipality or municipalities during the five years immediately preceding the bill’s effective date; or

      (3) a municipality has less than five plenary retail consumption licenses.

      The amendments also clarify that the fee for converting this license is to be paid to the municipality in which the licensed premises is located. If the licensed premises is located within the boundaries of two or more municipalities, the fee is to be divided and paid in equal proportions to each municipality. Under the amendments, a person would have 12 months following the bill’s effective date to exchange the license.