STATEMENT TO

[First Reprint]

SENATE, No. 3608

with Assembly Floor Amendments

(Proposed by Assemblyman FREIMAN)

ADOPTED: OCTOBER 28, 2024

      First Reprint to Senate Bill No. 3608 permits restaurants and certain alcoholic beverage retailers and manufacturers to extend their premises to certain outdoor locations. Under the bill, owners and operators of these businesses may be permitted to use outdoor spaces, as defined in the bill, that they own or lease and that are located on their business premises, contiguous to the business premises, or in a non-contiguous location as an extension of their business premises for the purpose of conducting sales of food and beverages, including alcoholic beverages if licensed.

      These Senate amendments make various revisions pertaining to the issuance of premises expansion permits.  Specifically, the amendments

remove “out-of-State winery license” from the definition of “alcoholic beverage manufacturer license.”  The amendments also provide that the Director of the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) would be required to issue premises expansion permits until after the issuance of a special ruling or adoption of regulations to effectuate the purposes of the bill, which are required to be issued or adopted no later than May 30, 2025.  In addition, the amendments provide that temporary expansion permits issued prior to the effective date of the bill will remain in effect until either November 30, 2025 or until a license holder is issued a premises expansion permit pursuant to the provisions of the bill, whichever first occurs.

      The amendments also clarify that a temporary premises expansion permit will expire upon conversion to a permit that may be annually renewed, upon notice and payment of a fee to the Director of ABC. Finally, the amendments clarify that an application filed with the municipal zoning officer is to include the purposes for the permit’s use other than the sale of alcoholic beverages.