PRINTER'S NO. 3178
No. 2351 Session of 1990
INTRODUCED BY DISTLER, PETRARCA, MERRY, TIGUE, MARKOSEK, PESCI,
MELIO, CHADWICK, DeLUCA, VEON, TRELLO, FOX, KENNEY, DEMPSEY,
KASUNIC, HALUSKA, BUNT, JADLOWIEC, BILLOW, TELEK AND THOMAS,
MARCH 19, 1990
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON LIQUOR CONTROL, MARCH 19, 1990
AN ACT
1 Amending the act of April 12, 1951 (P.L.90, No.21), entitled, as
2 reenacted, "An act relating to alcoholic liquors, alcohol and
3 malt and brewed beverages; amending, revising, consolidating
4 and changing the laws relating thereto; regulating and
5 restricting the manufacture, purchase, sale, possession,
6 consumption, importation, transportation, furnishing, holding
7 in bond, holding in storage, traffic in and use of alcoholic
8 liquors, alcohol and malt and brewed beverages and the
9 persons engaged or employed therein; defining the powers and
10 duties of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board; providing
11 for the establishment and operation of State liquor stores,
12 for the payment of certain license fees to the respective
13 municipalities and townships, for the abatement of certain
14 nuisances and, in certain cases, for search and seizure
15 without warrant; prescribing penalties and forfeitures;
16 providing for local option, and repealing existing laws,"
17 further providing for eligibility for club licenses.
18 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
19 hereby enacts as follows:
20 Section 1. Section 471(b) of the act of April 12, 1951
21 (P.L.90, No.21), known as the Liquor Code, reenacted and amended
22 June 29, 1987 (P.L.32, No.14), is amended to read:
23 Section 471. Revocation and Suspension of Licenses; Fines.--
24 * * *
1 (b) Hearing on such citations shall be held in the same
2 manner as provided herein for hearings on applications for
3 license. Upon such hearing, if satisfied that any such violation
4 has occurred or for other sufficient cause, the administrative
5 law judge shall immediately suspend or revoke the license, or
6 impose a fine of not less than fifty dollars ($50) nor more than
7 one thousand dollars ($1,000), or both, notifying the licensee
8 by registered letter addressed to his licensed premises. If the
9 licensee has been cited and found to have violated section
10 493(1) insofar as it relates to sales to minors, section 493(10)
11 insofar as it relates to lewd, immoral or improper entertainment
12 or section 493(14), (16) or (21), or has been found to be a
13 public nuisance pursuant to section 611, or if the owner or
14 operator of the licensed premises or any authorized agent of the
15 owner or operator has been convicted of any violation of the act
16 of April 14, 1972 (P.L.233, No.64), known as "The Controlled
17 Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act," or of 18 Pa.C.S. §
18 5902 (relating to prostitution and related offenses) or 6301
19 (relating to corruption of minors), at or relating to the
20 licensed premises, the administrative law judge shall
21 immediately suspend or revoke the license, or impose a fine of
22 not less than one thousand dollars ($1,000) nor more than five
23 thousand dollars ($5,000), or both. The administrative law judge
24 shall notify the licensee by registered mail, addressed to the
25 licensed premises, of such suspension, revocation or fine. The
26 increased civil penalty imposed by this subsection shall not be
27 used to require any licensee to increase the amount of the bond
28 required by this act. In the event the fine is not paid within
29 twenty days of the adjudication, the administrative law judge
30 shall suspend or revoke the license, notifying the licensee by
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1 registered mail addressed to the licensed premises. Suspensions
2 and revocations shall not go into effect until thirty days have
3 elapsed from the date of the adjudication during which time the
4 licensee may take an appeal as provided for in this act. When a
5 license is revoked, the licensee's bond may be forfeited. Any
6 licensee, other than a club or catering club, whose license is
7 revoked shall be ineligible to have a license under this act
8 until the expiration of three years from the date such license
9 was revoked. Any club or catering club whose license is revoked
10 for failure to renew its license shall be eligible at any time
11 to have a license issued under this act. In the event a license
12 other than a club or catering club, is revoked, no license shall
13 be granted for the premises or transferred to the premises in
14 which the said license was conducted for a period of at least
15 one year after the date of the revocation of the license
16 conducted in the said premises, except in cases where the
17 licensee or a member of his immediate family is not the owner of
18 the premises, in which case the board may, in its discretion,
19 issue or transfer a license within the said year. In the event
20 the bureau or the person who was fined or whose license was
21 suspended or revoked shall feel aggrieved by the adjudication of
22 the administrative law judge, there shall be a right to appeal
23 to the board. The appeal shall be based solely on the record
24 before the administrative law judge. The board shall affirm the
25 decision of the administrative law judge if it is based on
26 substantial evidence; otherwise, the board shall reverse the
27 decision of the administrative law judge. In the event the
28 bureau or the person who was fined or whose license was
29 suspended or revoked shall feel aggrieved by the decision of the
30 board, there shall be a right to appeal to the court of common
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1 pleas in the same manner as herein provided for appeals from
2 refusals to grant licenses. Each of the appeals shall act as a
3 supersedeas unless, upon sufficient cause shown, the reviewing
4 authority shall determine otherwise; however, if the licensee
5 has been cited and found to have violated section 493(1) insofar
6 as it relates to sales to minors, section 493(10) insofar as it
7 relates to lewd, immoral or improper entertainment or section
8 493(14), (16) or (21), or has been found to be a public nuisance
9 pursuant to section 611, or if the owner or operator of the
10 licensed premises or any authorized agent of the owner or
11 operator has been convicted of any violation of "The Controlled
12 Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act," or of 18 Pa.C.S. §
13 5902 or 6301, at or relating to the licensed premises, its
14 appeal shall not act as a supersedeas unless the reviewing
15 authority determines otherwise upon sufficient cause shown. In
16 any hearing on an application for a supersedeas under this
17 section, the reviewing authority may consider, in addition to
18 other relevant evidence, documentary evidence, including records
19 of the bureau, showing the prior history of citations, fines,
20 suspensions or revocations against the licensee; and the
21 reviewing authority may also consider, in addition to other
22 relevant evidence, evidence of any recurrence of the unlawful
23 activity occurring between the date of the citation which is the
24 subject of the appeal and the date of the hearing. No penalty
25 provided by this section shall be imposed for any violations
26 provided for in this act unless the bureau notifies the licensee
27 of its nature within thirty days of the completion of the
28 investigation.
29 * * *
30 Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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