Legislation targets alcohol sales

Bill would stiffen penalties for those that violate state law

The Alcoholic Beverage Control agency would be able to place tougher penalties on restaurants, bars and nightclubs that violate state alcohol laws under proposed legislation discussed Tuesday.

The draft legislation is part of an interim study proposal by Sen. Eddie Joe Williams, R-Cabot, who called the current penalties outdated and said the state has a duty to ensure a safe experience for people inside such establishments.

“We want to create a safe environment for everyone,” Williams said Tuesday during a joint meeting of the Senate and House committees on State Agencies and Governmental Affairs.

The proposal, which was created with input from the agency, will be voted on by the committees in November, Williams said.

Little Rock attracted statewide and national attention in July after 25 people were wounded in gunfire at the Power Ultra Lounge in downtown Little Rock. Three other people were injured while fleeing the scene, police said.

Local and state authorities responded to at least 37 civil and criminal complaints at the Power Ultra Lounge over four years before the July shooting. In the wake of the shooting, Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced the creation of a joint task force of local, state and federal law enforcement agencies. Federals officials have said the task force is targeting gangs and violent crime in Little Rock. The legislative committee discussions are separate from the task force.

Mary Robin Casteel, director of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Administration Division, said in an interview that the proposal would add teeth to the agency’s current penalties.

“It is true that the fines, as they exist today, date back pretty much to … 1939. They have not changed much since then,” she told lawmakers. Prohibition ended in 1933.

The agency, she said, has the power to revoke a permit, but the proposed changes would clarify when the division would be required to take that action.

The proposal also would require establishments with an alcohol permit to self-report any Class A violations to the division within five days after the violation. Alcoholic Beverage Control does not now have a rule that requires establishments to self-report violations, Casteel said.

Class A violations, the highest level of the penalties, include selling alcohol to minors, the unauthorized possession of a weapon on the premises and violation of legal closing hours, among others. If the establishment failed to report the violation within five days, it would face the maximum penalty for the violation, according to the draft bill.

Instead of placing the burden on local law enforcement, the new rules would put the responsibility on the establishment, Williams said.

Last month, while discussing the same topic of the nightclub shooting, officials raised concerns over suggestions that the agency should receive every police report related to an establishment with an alcohol permit, thus putting the burden on local law enforcement officials to report violations.

During the September meeting, Boyce Hamlet, director of the agency’s enforcement division, told lawmakers that not every police incident at a bar or restaurant needs to be reported to the agency. Some incidents, such as vehicle break-ins, are unrelated to the alcohol permit, he told lawmakers then.

Even so, he said last month that local law enforcement agencies are good at informing the agency of notable incidents, especially in jurisdictions that have more alcohol permits.

Under the current penalties, establishments with a Class A violation could be fined $500 to $1,000. Under the proposal, the same violation could result in a permit suspension of up to seven days or a fine up to $1,000 per day.

Class B permit violations could draw suspensions up to five days or fines up to $500 a day under the proposal. The current penalty for a Class B violation is a fine from $200 to $500, according to documents. Class B violations include actions like defacing, destroying or altering a permit; sale of controlled beverages by vending machine and accepting food stamps as payment for controlled beverages. The proposal also would change Class C penalties.

“It is true that the fines, as they exist today, date back pretty much to … 1939. They have not changed much since then.” — Mary Robin Casteel, director of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Administration Division