CHAPTER 466
FORMERLY
HOUSE BILL NO. 1135
AS AMENDED BY HOUSE AMENDMENT NOS. 1 AND 2
AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 4 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO LICENSES FOR NONPROFIT GROUPS AND ORGANIZATIONS, AND TO LICENSES FOR CATERERS.
WHEREAS, increased applications for gathering licenses have been received by the Delaware Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission; and
WHEREAS, these gathering licensees are operating as de facto tavern and taproom licensees, and are only open at peak times; and
WHEREAS, taproom and tavern licensees are restricted by distance requirements and are subject to greater license fees; and
WHEREAS, to protect duly licensed and legally-spaced taproom and tavern owners from the unfair competition of gathering licensees engaged in the sale of alcoholic liquors for profit, gathering licenses are hereby limited to non-profit groups and organizations promoting a civic, social, educational or religious purpose as provided in this Act. Gathering licensees presently licensed which come within the caterer definition in § 101 of Title 4 as provided below may continue as licensees until the expiration of their gathering licenses, at which time they must qualify as licensees under §512 (g) of Title 4, as provided below.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Delavvare:
numbering the succeeding subsections in said section accordingly:
"(5) 'Caterer' means any proprietorship, partnership or corporation engaged in the business of providing food and beverages at social gatherings such as weddings, dinners, benefits, banquets or other similar events for consideration on a regular basis and duly licensed by the State of Delaware as caterers with at least sixty percent (6007o) of its gross receipts resulting from the sale of food."
Section 2. Amend present subsection (13), Section
101, Title 4 of the Delaware Code by adding the following after the word "dispensed":
"by non-profit organizations such as churches, colleges and universities, volunteer fire companies, political parties, or other similar non-profit groups having a common civic, social, educational or religious purpose, or where entrance tickets are sold or entrance fees are required by those nonprofit organizations."
Section 3. Amend §5 I 2, Title 4 of the Delaware
Code by adding thereto a new subsection (g), which shall read as follows:
"(g) A caterer may apply for a license to purchase alcoholic liquors from the Commission or through the Commission, as provided in §702 of this Title, from a manufacturer or from an importer and to receive, keep and sell such alcoholic liquors either by the glass or by the bottle, for consumption on any portion of the premises approved by the Commission for that purpose."
Section 4. Amend §554 (i) (1), Title 4 of the
Delaware Code by striking the period (.) at the end of said sub-paragraph, and by adding the following:
"or unless the said license shall be for any holiday specified in §714 (e) of this Title, in which case the license fee
shall be an additional $5.00 for each such holiday."
Section 5. Amend §554 (i) (2), Title 4 of the
Delaware Code by adding the following new sentence at the end of said sub-paragraph:
"For the holder of an annual premises-type gathering license to sell alcoholic liquor on any holiday specified in §714 (e) of this Title, the fee shall be an additional $200."
Section 6. Amend §554, Title 4 of the Delaware
Code by adding the following new subsection to said section:
"(z) For a license to sell alcoholic liquors as a caterer, the license fee shall be $225."
Section 7. Amend §714 (d), Title 4 of the Delaware
Code by inserting, between the word "railroad" and the word "shall" as the same appear in the first sentence of said subsection, the following:
"caterer"
Section 8. Amend §714 (d), Title 4 of the Delaware
Code by adding after the word "railroad" as the same appears in the third and fourth sentence of said subsection the word "caterer".
Section 9. Amend subsection 512 (d) Chapter 5, Ti-
tle 4 of the Delaware Code by adding a new sentence at the end thereof to read as follows:
"Any person who has purchased a bottle of alcoholic liquor other than beer from a caterer and who has partially consumed the contents of such bottle on the premises approved by the Commission for the catering, may remove it from the approved premises for the purpose of consumption off the approved premises."