Inactive Liquor Licenses Could Transfer In Burlington County Senator’s Bill

BURLINGTON COUNTY, NJ — Municipalities could buy and sell inactive liquor licenses to other communities in New Jersey under a Burlington County senator’s new bill.

State Sen. Troy Singleton (D-Moorestown) introduced a bill Jan. 10 that would create procedures for inactive liquor licenses to be transferred “for use as part of an economic redevelopment plan,” his office said.

The senator’s proposal differs from Gov. Phil Murphy’s, which would see a gradual increase in the number of licenses able to be issued over the next five years.

Under current regulations, local governments can only issue one Plenary Retail Consumption License per 3,000 residents. The license allows holders to sell alcohol for on-premise consumption.

And there are close to 1,400 inactive licenses in the state, industry officials told business reporting site ROI-NJ.

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Singleton said he believes his proposal would balance the need to expand liquor license access in the state, while not devaluing owners’ “significant investment” in buying the licenses.

“It is no secret that liquor licenses in New Jersey are a hot commodity and extremely valuable,” Singleton said. “But, our liquor license laws are unfair, archaic and outdated. By allowing inactive liquor licenses to be transferred to redevelopment areas, we are creating more opportunities for new restaurants and bars to flourish plus providing financial compensation to the towns from which the licenses are acquired.”

A license that is not actively used within two years of the issuance date would expire under Singleton’s bill, his office said.

Under Singleton’s bill, municipalities eligible to issue an additional plenary retail consumption license would be authorized to sell the license at public sale to the highest bidding municipality in the state. The money from this sale “would be transferred to the municipal treasurer for the general use of the host municipality,” Singleton’s office said.

Similarly, municipalities that have reached the license limitation established under current law to issue a request for proposal (RFP) to receive an inactive license from any license holder in the state.

The bill would require the receiving municipalities to issue the license “for use in connection with an economic redevelopment plan.”

Both municipalities would be required to adopt identical resolutions authorizing the license’s transfer, establishing the license transfer fee they agreed upon, Singleton’s office said.