01/31/2018 03:15 PM House LABOR & COMMERCE

           HB 265-LIQUOR LICENSES; RESTAURANTS/MOTELS                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
3:57:05 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR KITO  announced that  the next order  of business  would be                                                               
HOUSE BILL NO. 265, "An Act  relating to the renewal of a license                                                               
involving alcoholic  beverages; and  relating to the  transfer or                                                               
issuance  of a  beverage dispensary  license or  a restaurant  or                                                               
eating place license."                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
3:57:31 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE   GEORGE  RAUSCHER,   Alaska  State   Legislature,                                                               
introduced HB  265 as prime  sponsor.  He explained  the proposed                                                               
bill  would make  three strategic  changes to  alcoholic beverage                                                               
licensing to  improve the Alcohol  Beverage Control  (ABC) Board.                                                               
First, it  would modify the  opening hours requirements  for club                                                               
licenses.  It  would create a level playing  field for businesses                                                               
that  serve tourists  on the  road  systems.   The proposed  bill                                                               
would establish a grandfather clause  for the holder of a tourism                                                               
license  to  improve  the  ownership  transfer  procedures.    He                                                               
continued that club licenses affect  Lions Clubs, Elks Clubs, and                                                               
non-profits.  He  explained the current statute  requires them to                                                               
be open  30 days each calendar  year for a full  eight hours each                                                               
day.   The proposed bill  would require a  total of 240  hours in                                                               
the year.  He specified that  HB 265 would limit roadhouses to 25                                                               
miles outside an incorporated city or unified borough.                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
4:00:05 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE STUTES asked for a sectional analysis of HB 265.                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
4:00:20 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
DARRELL  BREESE, Staff,  Representative  George Rauscher,  Alaska                                                               
State Legislature,  on behalf  of Representative  Rauscher, prime                                                               
sponsor, answered  that there  was an  explanation of  changes in                                                               
the  proposed  bill,  but  there was  no  sectional  analysis  at                                                               
present.                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
4:00:50 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR KITO  held over  HB 265  to receive  additional information                                                               
from staff.  [The bill was taken up again later in the meeting.]                                                                
                                                                                                                                
           HB 265-LIQUOR LICENSES; RESTAURANTS/MOTELS                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
5:17:15 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR KITO announced that the final  order of business would be a                                                               
return to HOUSE BILL NO. 265,  "An Act relating to the renewal of                                                               
a  license involving  alcoholic  beverages; and  relating to  the                                                               
transfer  or  issuance of  a  beverage  dispensary license  or  a                                                               
restaurant or eating place license."                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
5:17:38 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
DARRELL  BREESE, Staff,  Representative  George Rauscher,  Alaska                                                               
State Legislature,  presented HB 265 on  behalf of Representative                                                               
Rauscher.   He explained the  proposed bill grandfathered  in all                                                               
licenses from  the time they were  issued.  He added  that of the                                                               
list of 34 licenses that were  in jeopardy, 9 of them were issued                                                               
after 1985  and would still  be in  jeopardy.  The  proposed bill                                                               
would grandfather all  licenses at the number of rooms  it had at                                                               
the time  of licensing.   There  was also a  change for  the club                                                               
licenses, which currently had to be  open for 30 8-hour days each                                                               
calendar year.  With the new  legislation, that would change to a                                                               
cumulative 240 hours in the  calendar year, which could be broken                                                               
up into 2-  or 4-hour blocks.  He stated  club license owners can                                                               
serve alcohol  only to club  members, so allowing them  to adjust                                                               
their  hours to  fit  their needs  would be  useful  as it  would                                                               
prevent them from being penalized at  the time of renewal for not                                                               
meeting the 30 8-hour day requirement.                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
5:21:17 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE STUTES stated she  was concerned about a statement                                                               
in the previous  presentation saying the intent was  to level the                                                               
playing field between clubs and dispensaries.                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
MR. BREESE  apologized for  the confusion  and explained  that he                                                               
had  been  referring  to  levelling  the  playing  field  in  the                                                               
roadhouse license issue.   He gave the example of  the Long Rifle                                                               
Lodge, which  has a tourism license  and has 10 rooms.   With the                                                               
law as it  was currently being interpreted, the  lodge would have                                                               
to  have 50  rooms  as the  board was  looking  at the  Matanuska                                                               
population as  a whole.   The proposed bill created  the language                                                               
for  a  roadhouse license  requiring  only  10  rooms.   The  new                                                               
language  would also  enable a  new business  across the  highway                                                               
from the  Long Rifle Lodge to  "make a go  of it" if it  can meet                                                               
the requirement  of 10 rooms.   He  explained that was  where the                                                               
playing field would be levelled.                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE STUTES surmised the intent  was that the new lodge                                                               
would have  their licenses  issued under  the same  conditions as                                                               
"the guy across the street."                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MR. BREESE replied in the affirmative.                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
5:23:55 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  WOOL  asked  whether   HB  301  would  allow  the                                                               
hypothetical new lodge to have fewer than 50 rooms.                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
5:24:41 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MR.   BREESE  explained   the  proposed   bill's  definition   of                                                               
roadhouses  was those  located 25  miles outside  an incorporated                                                               
city or  unified borough and  on a  national scenic byway.   This                                                               
would include  Seward Highway, Parks  Highway, Glen  Highway, and                                                               
Richardson Highway, which were all  codified in national law.  He                                                               
stated the Long Rifle Lodge  was located 46 miles outside Palmer,                                                               
adding it was  in the Matanuska-Susitna borough,  but the borough                                                               
was not a unified borough.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
5:25:55 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR KITO offered  that the Alaska Marine  Highway System (AMHS)                                                               
was  also  considered a  scenic  byway.    He  asked how  it  was                                                               
affected by HB 301.                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
5:26:13 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MR. BREESE  answered the national  scenic byway started  once one                                                               
left  port and  there was  no  way for  someone to  build in  the                                                               
water.   He added that  Haines Highway  was also on  the national                                                               
scenic byway  list but was  within the unified borough  of Haines                                                               
and therefore construction would not be allowed.                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
5:26:42 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE KNOPP asked why  the proposed legislation exempted                                                               
unified boroughs.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
MR.  BREESE answered  it was  because unified  boroughs generally                                                               
had a  single seat  of government  and it did  not make  sense to                                                               
include  them, because  the city  boundaries  were typically  the                                                               
same as the unified borough.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
5:27:27 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR KITO said he would open  public testimony on HB 265 but not                                                               
hear testimony as  the meeting had to adjourn.   He said he would                                                               
leave public testimony open.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR KITO held over HB 265.