Bill Analysis - House Bill 4, Extend ABC Permit Renewal Fee Deferral (February 11, 2021)

Summary

Bill analysis of House Bill 4, Extend ABC Permit Renewal Fee Deferral, Third Edition, prepared by Chris Saunders, Staff Attorney, for the Senate Commerce and Insurance committee and dated February 11, 2021. It states that the bill would retroactively extend the deferral of ABC permit fees for businesses prohibited from operating under Executive Order 141 until 90 days after all executive orders limiting those permittees' full operation are rescinded or expire. It states that the bill would let certain permittees request a refund of fees paid for the 2020-2021 permit year and would direct the ABC Commission to reinstate or reactivate permits it cancelled or moved to inactive status. The analysis says that on January 4, 2021, about 124 permittees' permits were cancelled due to nonpayment.

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Full text

                                                     HOUSE BILL 4:
                                                     Extend ABC Permit Renewal Fee Deferral.
      2021-2022 General Assembly
     Committee:     Senate Commerce and Insurance. If favorable, Date:          February 11, 2021
                    re-refer to Rules and Operations of the Senate
     Introduced by: Reps. Moffitt, Boles, Bell, Paré               Prepared by: Chris Saunders
     Analysis of:   Third Edition                                               Staff Attorney

      OVERVIEW: House Bill 4 would retroactively extend the deferral of ABC permit fees for businesses
     prohibited from operating under the Governor's Executive Order 141 until 90 days after all executive
     orders limiting those permittees' full operation are rescinded or expire. The bill would also allow certain
     ABC permittees whose operation is limited by executive orders responding to the COVID-19 pandemic
     to request a refund of any permit fees paid for the 2020-2021 permit year, and direct the ABC
     Commission ("Commission") to reinstate or reactivate any permits that the Commission cancelled or
     moved to inactive status as a result of its interpretation of S.L. 2020-94.


     CURRENT LAW AND BACKGROUND: S.L. 2020-94 delayed the due date for renewal or registration
     of an ABC permit fee for ABC permittees that were prohibited from operating by the Governor's Executive
     Order 141, Easing Restrictions on Travel, Business Operations, and Mass Gatherings ("E.O. 141"), until
     90 days after the Governor signed an executive order rescinding the prohibition on those permittees'
     operation. Section 3.2 of Executive Order 169, effective October 2, 2020, required indoor areas at bars to
     remain closed, but allowed outdoor seating areas at bars to be open, limited to the lesser of 100 people for
     the total seating area or 30% of the facility's stated outdoor occupancy – or for spaces without a stated
     occupancy, no more than 7 guests for every 1,000 square feet of the outdoor area's square footage. The
     Commission started the 90-day period at this time. On January 4, 2021, about 124 permittees' permits
     were cancelled due to nonpayment. The Commission has posted a letter to the North Carolina Bar Owners
     Association indicating that the permits listed as "cancelled" have been moved to an inactive status and
     will have their permits returned to an active status under a streamlined process when the permittees are
     ready to reopen.


     BILL ANALYSIS: Section 1 of the bill would amend S.L. 2020-94 by retroactively extending the
     deferral of ABC permit fees for businesses prohibited from operating under the Governor's Executive
     Order 141 until 90 days after all executive orders limiting those permittees' full operation are rescinded or
     expire. Permittees affected by the change would be required to notify the Commission in writing, including
     by e-mail or other electronic means, that they are intending to delay payment under this act.


     Sections 2 and 3 would repeal Section 2 of S.L. 2020-94, which allows refunds of ABC permit fees for
     certain permittees who had paid before July 13, 2020, and instead allow any permittee that is (i) is
     prohibited from operating pursuant to E.O. 141, (ii) is subject to any executive order responding to the
     COVID-19 pandemic and limiting the full operation of the permittee, and (iii) has paid a fee for renewal
     or registration of an ABC permit for the 2020-2021 permit year, to request a refund of the fee. The
                                                                                                                                                             Legislative Analysis
     Jeffrey Hudson
                                                                                                                                                                   Division
         Director                                                H4-SMTQ-5(e3)-v-2                                                                             919-733-2578
This bill analysis was prepared by the nonpartisan legislative staff for the use of legislators in their deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.
House Bill 4
Page 2

Commission shall grant the refund regardless of whether the permittee is operating at limited capacity
pursuant to an executive order responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. Any permittee who receives a
refund would be required to repay it before 90 days after all executive orders limiting those permittees'
full operation are rescinded or expire. Additionally, any covered person who held a permit in the 2020-
2021 permit year, paid a renewal or registration fee, and surrendered the permit due to closure of the
person's business may request a refund and is not required to repay the fee.


Section 4 would direct the Commission to reinstate or reactivate any ABC permits it cancelled or moved
to inactive status based on its interpretation of Section 1 of S.L. 2020-94 as it existed prior to being
amended by Section 1 of this act. In reinstating or reactivating the permits, the Commission must not
require affected permittees to submit an application or pay any permit fees. Any permittee whose permit
was cancelled or moved to inactive status in this manner and who paid the permit fee to have the permit
reinstated or reactivated would be allowed to request a refund of the fee.


EFFECTIVE DATE: Section 1 of this act would be retroactively effective June 30, 2020. The remainder
of this act would be effective when it becomes law.


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