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Municipal Technical Advisory Service (MTAS)

Responsible Vendor Act Sample Ordinance

Reference Number: MTAS-1407
Reviewed Date: 12/16/2022

ORDINANCE NO._____
 

AN ORDINANCE TO DELETE SECTION 8-212, DELETE SUBSECTION (1) OF SECTION 8-213, TO AMEND SECTIONS 8-214 AND 8-215, AND TO ADD SECTION 8-216 TO THE CITY OF ___________ MUNICIPAL CODE.

BE IT ORDAINED BY THE BOARD OF MAYOR AND ALDERMEN OF THE CITY OF _________, TENNESSEE, THAT:

Section 1. Section 8-212, “Signs to be posted on premises,” of the City of ______________ Municipal Code is deleted.

Section 2. Subsection (1) of § 8-213 of the City of __________ Municipal Code, which reads, “Employ any person convicted for the possession, sale, manufacture, or transportation of intoxicating liquor, or any crime involving moral turpitude within the past ten (10) years” is deleted.

Section 3. Section 8-214, “Revocation or suspension of beer permits” of the City of __________ Municipal Code is amended by adding a second paragraph to read as follows:

Pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated § 57-5-608, the beer board shall not revoke or suspend the permit of a “responsible vendor” qualified under the requirements of Tennessee Code Annotated § 57-5-606 for a clerk’s illegal sale of beer to a minor if the clerk is properly certified and has attended annual meetings since the clerk’s original certification, unless the vendor’s status as a certified responsible vendor has been revoked by the alcoholic beverage commission. If the responsible vendor’s certification has been revoked, the vendor shall be punished by the beer board as if the vendor were not certified as a responsible vendor. “Clerk” means any person working in a capacity to sell beer directly to consumers for off-premises consumption. Under Tennessee Code Annotated § 57-5-608, the alcoholic beverage commission shall revoke a vendor’s status as a responsible vendor upon notification by the beer board that the board has made a final determination that the vendor has sold beer to a minor for the second time in a consecutive twelve-month period. The revocation shall be for three (3) years.

Section 4. Section 8-215, “Civil penalty in lieu of revocation or suspension” of the City of ____________________ Municipal Code is amended to read as follows:

8-215. Civil penalty in lieu of revocation or suspension. (1) Definition. “Responsible vendor” means a person, corporation or other entity that has been issued a permit to sell beer for off-premises consumption and has received certification by the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission under the “Tennessee Responsible Vendor Act of 2006,” Tennessee Code Annotated § 57-5-601, et seq.

(2) Penalty, revocation or suspension. The beer board may, at the time it imposes a revocation or suspension, offer a permit holder that is not a responsible vendor the alternative of paying a civil penalty not to exceed two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500.00) for each offense of making or permitting to be made any sales to minors, or a civil penalty not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) for any other offense.

The beer board may impose on a responsible vendor a civil penalty not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) for each offense of making or permitting to be made any sales to minors or for any other offense.

If a civil penalty is offered as an alternative to revocation or suspension, the holder shall have seven (7) days within which to pay the civil penalty before the revocation or suspension shall be imposed. If the civil penalty is paid within that time, the revocation or suspension shall be deemed withdrawn.Payment of the civil penalty in lieu of revocation or suspension by a permit holder shall be an admission by the holder of the violation so charged and shall be paid to the exclusion of any other penalty that the city may impose.

Section 5. Section 8-216, “Revocation of clerk’s certification,” is added to the City of ______________ Municipal Code to read as follows:

8-216. Loss of clerk’s certification for sale to minor. If the beer board determines that a clerk of an off-premises beer permit holder certified under Tennessee Code Annotated § 57-5-606 sold beer to a minor, the beer board shall report the name of the clerk to the alcoholic beverage commission within fifteen (15) days of determination of the sale. The certification of the clerk shall be invalid and the clerk may not reapply for a new certificate for a period of one (1) year from the date of the beer board’s determination.

Section 6. Date of effect. This ordinance shall take effect from and after its final passage, the public welfare requiring it.


Passed 1st reading, _____________________________, 20___.

Passed 2nd reading,_____________________________, 20___.


___________________________________
Mayor

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Recorder