Title: Seating Requirements for Special Food Service Establishment Licenses

Summary: Revising requirements for receiving special food service establishment licenses.

Full Text:
An act relating to seating requirements for special food service establishment licenses; amending s. 561.20, F.S.; revising the requirements for receiving a special food service establishment license; providing an effective date. Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section 561.20, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 561.20 Limita tion upon number of licenses issued.-(2)(a) The limitation of the number of licenses as provided in this section does not prohibit the issuance of a special license to: 1. Any bona fide hotel, motel, or motor court of not fewer than guest rooms in any county having a population of less than 50,000 residents, and of not fewer than guest rooms in any county having a population of 50,000 residents or greater; or any bona fide hotel or motel located in a historic structure,as defined in s. 561.01(2 0), with fewer than guest rooms which derives at least percent of its gross revenue from the rental of hotel or motel rooms, which is licensed as a public lodging establishment by the Division of Hotels and Restaurants; provided, however, that a bon a fide hotel or motel with no fewer CS/HB 2022 than and no more than guest rooms which is a historic structure,as defined in s. 561.01(20),in a municipality that on the effective date of this act has a population, according to the University of Florida's Bure au of Economic and Business Research Estimates of Population for 1998, of no fewer than 25,000 and no more than 35,000 residents and that is within a constitutionally chartered county may be issued a special license. This special license shall allow the sa le and consumption of alcoholic beverages only on the licensed premises of the hotel or motel. In addition, the hotel or motel must derive at least percent of its gross revenue from the rental of hotel or motel rooms and the sale of food and nonalcoholi cbeverages; provided that this subparagraph shall supersede local laws requiring a greater number of hotel rooms; 2. Any condominium accommodation of which no fewer than condominium units are wholly rentable to transients and which is licensed under chapter 509, except that the license shall be issued only to the person or corporation that operates the hotel or motel operation and not to the association of condominium owners; 3. Any condominium accommodation of which no fewer than 46 condominium un its are wholly rentable to transients, which is licensed under chapter 509, and which is located in any county having home rule under s. or s. 11, Art. VIII of the State Constitution of 1885, as amended, and incorporated by reference CS/HB 2022 in s. 6(e), Art. VI II of the State Constitution, except that the license shall be issued only to the person or corporation that operates the hotel or motel operation and not to the association of condominium owners; 4. A food service establishment that has 2,500 square fee tof service area, is equipped to serve meals to 150 persons at one time, and derives at least percent of its gross food and beverage revenue from the sale of food and nonalcoholic beverages during the first-day operating period and the first-month operating period thereafter. Subsequent audit timeframes must be based upon the audit percentage established by the most recent audit and conducted on a staggered scale as follows: level 1, percent to percent, every year; level 2, percent to percent, every years; level 3, percent to percent, every years; and level 4, percent to 65 percent, every years. A licensee under this subparagraph may sell or deliver alcoholic beverages in a sealed container for off-premises consumpt ion if the sale or delivery is accompanied by the sale of food within the same order. Such authorized sale or delivery includes wine-based and liquor-based beverages prepared by the licensee or its employee and packaged in a container sealed by the license eor its employee. This subparagraph may not be construed to authorize public food service establishments licensed under this subparagraph to sell a bottle of distilled spirits sealed by a manufacturer. Any sale CS/HB 2022 or delivery of malt beverages must comply wi th the container size, labeling, and filling requirements imposed under s. 563.06. Any delivery of an alcoholic beverage under this subparagraph must comply with s. 561.57. An alcoholic beverage drink prepared by the vendor and sold or delivered for consumption off the premises must be placed in a container securely sealed by the licensee or its employees with an unbroken seal that prevents the beverage from being immediately consumed before removal from the premises. Such alcoholic beverage also must be pl aced in a bag or other container that is secured in such a manner that it is visibly apparent if the container has been subsequently opened or tampered with, and a dated receipt for the alcoholic beverage and food must be provided by the licensee and attac hed to the bag or container. If transported in a motor vehicle, an alcoholic beverage that is not in a container sealed by the manufacturer must be placed in a locked compartment, a locked trunk, or the area behind the last upright seat of a motor vehicle. It is a violation of the prohibition in s. 562.11 to allow any person under the age of 94 to deliver alcoholic beverages on behalf of a vendor. The vendor or the agent or employee of the vendor must verify the age of the person making the delivery of the alcoholic beverage before allowing any person to take possession of an alcoholic beverage for the purpose of making a delivery on behalf of a vendor under this section. A food service establishment granted a special CS/HB 2022 license on or after January 1, 1958, pur suant to general or special law may not operate as a package store and may not sell intoxicating beverages under such license after the hours of serving or consumption of food have elapsed. Failure by a licensee to meet the required percentage of food and nonalcoholic beverage gross revenues during the covered operating period shall result in revocation of the license or denial of the pending license application. A licensee whose license is revoked or an applicant whose pending application is denied, or any person required to qualify on the special license application, is ineligible to have any interest in a subsequent application for such a license for a period of days after the date of the final denial or revocation; 5. Any caterer, deriving at least percent of its gross food and beverage revenue from the sale of food and nonalcoholic beverages at each catered event, licensed by the Division of Hotels and Restaurants under chapter 509. This subparagraph does not apply to a culinary education progra m, as defined in s. 381.0072(2), which is licensed as a public food service establishment by the Division of Hotels and Restaurants and provides catering services. Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, a licensee under this subparagraph shall sell or se rve alcoholic beverages only for consumption on the premises of a catered event at which the licensee is also providing prepared food, and shall prominently display its license at any catered CS/HB 2022 event at which the caterer is selling or serving alcoholic beverages. A licensee under this subparagraph shall purchase all alcoholic beverages it sells or serves at a catered event from a vendor licensed under s. 563.02(1), s. 564.02(1), or licensed under s. 565.02(1) subject to the limitation imposed in subsection (1 ), as appropriate. A licensee under this subparagraph may not store any alcoholic beverages to be sold or served at a catered event. Any alcoholic beverages purchased by a licensee under this subparagraph for a catered event that are not used at that event must remain with the customer; provided that if the vendor accepts unopened alcoholic beverages, the licensee may return such alcoholic beverages to the vendor for a credit or reimbursement. Regardless of the county or counties in which the licensee opera tes, a licensee under this subparagraph shall pay the annual state license tax set forth in s. 565.02(1)(b). A licensee under this subparagraph must maintain for a period of years all records and receipts for each catered event, including all contracts, customers' names, event locations, event dates, food purchases and sales, alcoholic beverage purchases and sales, nonalcoholic beverage purchases and sales, and any other records required by the department by rule to demonstrate compliance with the require ments of this subparagraph. Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, any vendor licensed under s. 565.02(1) subject to the limitation imposed in subsection (1), may, without any additional licensure CS/HB 2022 under this subparagraph, serve or sell alcoholic beverage sfor consumption on the premises of a catered event at which prepared food is provided by a caterer licensed under chapter 509. If a licensee under this subparagraph also possesses any other license under the Beverage Law, the license issued under this subparagraph may not authorize the holder to conduct activities on the premises to which the other license or licenses apply that would otherwise be prohibited by the terms of that license or the Beverage Law. This section does not permit the licensee to conduct activities that are otherwise prohibited by the Beverage Law or local law. The Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco is hereby authorized to adopt rules to administer the license created in this subparagraph, to include rules governing licensure,recordkeeping, and enforcement. The first $300,000 in fees collected by the division each fiscal year pursuant to this subparagraph shall be deposited in the Department of Children and Families' Operations and Maintenance Trust Fund to be used only for a lcohol and drug abuse education, treatment, and prevention programs. The remainder of the fees collected shall be deposited into the Hotel and Restaurant Trust Fund created pursuant to s. 509.072; or 6. A culinary education program as defined in s. 381.0072(2) which is licensed as a public food service establishment by the Division of Hotels and Restaurants. a. This special license shall allow the sale and CS/HB 2022 consumption of alcoholic beverages on the licensed premises of the culinary education program. The culinary education program shall specify designated areas in the facility where the alcoholic beverages may be consumed at the time of application. Alcoholic beverages sold for consumption on the premises may be consumed only in areas designated under s. 561.01(11) and may not be removed from the designated area. Such license shall be applicable only in and for designated areas used by the culinary education program. b. If the culinary education program provides catering services, this special license sh all also allow the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages on the premises of a catered event at which the licensee is also providing prepared food. A culinary education program that provides catering services is not required to derive at least perc ent of its gross revenue from the sale of food and nonalcoholic beverages. Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, a licensee that provides catering services under this sub-subparagraph shall prominently display its beverage license at any catered event a twhich the caterer is selling or serving alcoholic beverages. Regardless of the county or counties in which the licensee operates, a licensee under this sub-subparagraph shall pay the annual state license tax set forth in s. 565.02(1)(b). A licensee under this sub-subparagraph must maintain for a period of years all records required by the department by rule to CS/HB 2022 demonstrate compliance with the requirements of this sub subparagraph. c. If a licensee under this subparagraph also possesses any other licens eunder the Beverage Law, the license issued under this subparagraph does not authorize the holder to conduct activities on the premises to which the other license or licenses apply that would otherwise be prohibited by the terms of that license or the Bev erage Law. This subparagraph does not permit the licensee to conduct activities that are otherwise prohibited by the Beverage Law or local law. Any culinary education program that holds a license to sell alcoholic beverages shall comply with the age requir ements set forth in ss. 562.11(4), 562.111(2), and 562.13. d. The Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco may adopt rules to administer the license created in this subparagraph, to include rules governing licensure, recordkeeping, and enforcement. e. A license issued pursuant to this subparagraph does not permit the licensee to sell alcoholic beverages by the package for off-premises consumption. However, any license heretofore issued to any such hotel, motel, motor court, or restaurant or hereaft er issued to any such hotel, motel, or motor court, including a condominium accommodation, under the general law may not be moved to a new CS/HB 2022 location, such license being valid only on the premises of such hotel, motel, motor court, or restaurant. Licenses is sued to hotels, motels, motor courts, or restaurants under the general law and held by such hotels, motels, motor courts, or restaurants on May 24, 1947, shall be counted in the quota limitation contained in subsection (1). Any license issued for any hotel,motel, or motor court under this law shall be issued only to the owner of the hotel, motel, or motor court or, in the event the hotel, motel, or motor court is leased, to the lessee of the hotel, motel, or motor court; and the license shall remain in the name of the owner or lessee so long as the license is in existence. Any special license now in existence heretofore issued under this law cannot be renewed except in the name of the owner of the hotel, motel, motor court, or restaurant or, in the event th ehotel, motel, motor court, or restaurant is leased, in the name of the lessee of the hotel, motel, motor court, or restaurant in which the license is located and must remain in the name of the owner or lessee so long as the license is in existence. Any license issued under this section shall be marked "Special," and nothing herein provided shall limit, restrict, or prevent the issuance of a special license for any restaurant or motel which shall hereafter meet the requirements of the law existing immediat ely before the effective date of this act, if construction of such restaurant has commenced before the effective date of this act and is completed within 250 CS/HB 2022 days thereafter, or if an application is on file for such special license at the time this act take seffect; and any such licenses issued under this proviso may be annually renewed as now provided by law. Nothing herein prevents an application for transfer of a license to a bona fide purchaser of any hotel, motel, motor court, or restaurant by the purch aser of such facility or the transfer of such license pursuant to law. Section 2. This act shall take effect May 1, 2022.