BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



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          Date of Hearing:  August 10, 2016


                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS


                               Lorena Gonzalez, Chair


          SB 1285  
          (Leno) - As Amended August 2, 2016


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          Urgency:  No  State Mandated Local Program:  YesReimbursable:   
          No


          SUMMARY:


          This bill authorizes the California Department of Alcoholic  
          Beverage Control (ABC) to issue additional on-sale general  
          alcohol licenses within the County and City of San Francisco.  
          Specifically, this bill: 


          1)Allows for a maximum of 5 new and nontransferable on-sale  
            general licenses to bona fide eating places located within  
            specific Census Tracts in the County and City of San  
            Francisco, starting on January 1, 2017. 









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          2)Requires applicants to hold a pre-application meeting to  
            discuss the application with community members and neighbors  
            and requires the applicant to notify certain organizations,  
            officials, and residents, as defined, prior to this meeting.  


          FISCAL EFFECT:


          Any additional licensing and oversight costs for ABC associated  
          with this legislation will be minor and absorbable.

          COMMENTS:


          1)Purpose and Background. According to the author, SB 1285 will  
            create a new type of neighborhood-restricted, nontransferable  
            liquor license for restaurants in order to promote economic  
            development in San Francisco's underdeveloped commercial  
            areas. 
            


            Existing state law caps the number of new on and off-sale  
            general licenses issued by ABC at 1 for every 2,500  
            inhabitants of a county. If no licenses are available from the  
            state due to the population restrictions, those interested in  
            obtaining a license may purchase one from an existing licensee  
            at the market price According to the author, the market price  
            for a liquor license is around $300,000, making them  
            inaccessible for small business owners in San Francisco's  
            outer neighborhoods. 





          2)Other related legislation. AB 1670 (Dodd), pending in the  








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            Senate Appropriations Committee, allows 5 on-sale general  
            licenses, over a 1-year period, for bona fide public eating  
            places public premises in Napa County.  AB 1558 (Mathis) of  
            2016, pending on the Senate Floor, allows 5 new on-sale  
            general licenses, over a 2-year period, for bona fide public  
            eating places public premises, or both, in Inyo County.  



            In addition to the two aforementioned bills, a number of  
            recent bills have created specific license exemptions for  
            individual counties. Those bills are: 





             a)   AB 461 (Achadjian), Chapter 110, Statutes of 2013:  
               Authorized ABC to issue no more five new original on-sale  
               general licenses, over a three-year period, for bona fide  
               public eating places in San Luis Obispo County. 


             b)   AB 1320 (Allen), Chapter 467, Statutes of 2012:  
               Authorized ABC to issue no more 15 new original on-sale  
               general licenses, over a three-year period, for bona fide  
               public eating places in Marin County.


             c)   SB 762 (Cox), Chapter 193, Statutes of 2007: Authorized  
               ABC to issue 10 new original on-sale general licenses for  
               bona fide public eating places in Mono County.


          Analysis Prepared by:Luke Reidenbach / APPR. / (916)  
          319-2081











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