ASSEMBLY APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

[First Reprint]

SENATE, No. 2160

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  JANUARY 8, 2026

      The Assembly Appropriations Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Senate Bill No. 2160 (1R).

As amended, this bill 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. 

      The amended bill establishes the fee to convert the license to be 43 percent of the average sales price of plenary retail consumption licenses in certain circumstances.  However, the fee is required to be set at a flat rate of $350,000 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 amended bill also clarifies 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 amended bill, a person would have 24 months following the bill’s effective date to exchange the license.

      A seasonal retail consumption license allows for the sale of alcoholic beverages for on-site consumption for a limited time during the summer or winter season. A license issued during the summer season allows the licensee to serve alcoholic beverages from May 1 through November 14.  The holder of a winter seasonal license may sell alcoholic beverages from November 15 to April 30.

      A seasonal license is subject to the same population restrictions as a plenary retail consumption license, and is included in the total number of consumption licenses that a municipality may issue. A municipality may issue one of these licenses -both seasonal and plenary retail consumption- for each 3,000 persons residing in the municipality.  Therefore, the bill does not allow for the issuance of new licenses, but rather allows seasonal licensees to sell alcoholic beverages during the entire year. 

      As amended and reported by the committee, Senate Bill No. 2160 (1R) is identical to Assembly Bill No. 4860, which was also amended and reported by the committee on this date.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:

      The committee amended the bill to:

      (1) increase the flat fee from $250,000 to $350,000 for converting a seasonal retail consumption license under certain circumstances;

      (2) increase the number of months from 12 to 24 following the bill’s effective date to convert the seasonal retail consumption;

      (3) clarify that the governing body of a municipality is required to affirmatively approve the holder of a seasonal license converting the license to a plenary retail consumption license, and exercising the same privileges as the holder of a plenary retail consumption license; and

      (4) make other technical changes. 

FISCAL IMPACT:

      Fiscal information for this bill is currently unavailable.