Allows municipalities to adopt ordinance to reduce population limit for certain alcoholic beverage retail consumption licenses.

S3680

SENATE, No. 3680

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 24, 2026

Sponsored by:

Senator� LINDA R. GREENSTEIN

District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)

SYNOPSIS

���� Allows municipalities to adopt ordinance to reduce
population limit for certain alcoholic beverage retail consumption licenses.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act

concerning alcoholic beverage retail licenses and amending P.L.1947, c.94.

����
Be It Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New
Jersey:

����
1.��� Section
2 of P.L.1947, c.94 (C.33:1-12.14) is amended to read as follows:

���� 2.��� a.�

Except as otherwise provided in this
[
act
]
Title and

subsection b. of this section
,
a
new plenary retail consumption or
seasonal retail consumption license shall
not
be issued in a
municipality unless and until the combined total number of such licenses
existing in the municipality is fewer than one for each 3,000 of its population

[
according
to the most recent estimates issued by the U.S. Bureau of the Census; provided,
however, in the year that the official federal decennial counts are received by
the Governor, those federal decennial counts shall be used
]
.

����
b.��� The governing body of
a municipality may adopt an ordinance to decrease over the course of five years
the population limit necessary to issue plenary retail consumption licenses or
seasonal retail consumption licenses established pursuant to subsection a. of
this section. A municipal ordinance adopted pursuant to this subsection shall
establish that a new plenary retail consumption or seasonal retail consumption
license shall not be issued in the municipality unless and until:

����
(1)�� prior to the first
day of the 13th month following the adoption of the ordinance, the combined
total number of such licenses existing in the municipality is fewer than one
for each 3,000 of its population;

����
(2)�� on the first day of
the 13th month following the adoption of the ordinance, the combined total
number of such licenses existing in the municipality is fewer than one for each
2,800 of its population;

����
(3)�� on the first day of
the 25th month following the adoption of the ordinance, the combined total
number of such licenses existing in the municipality is fewer than one for each
2,600 of its population;

����
(4)�� on the first day of
the 37th month following the adoption of the ordinance, the combined total
number of such licenses existing in the municipality is fewer than one for each
2,400 of its population;

����
(5)�� on the first day of
the 49th month following the adoption of the ordinance, the combined total
number of such licenses existing in the municipality is fewer than one for each
2,200 of its population; and

����
(6)�� on the first day of
the 61st month following the adoption of the ordinance, the combined total
number of such licenses existing in the municipality is fewer than one for each
2,000 of its population
.

����
[
No
]�
c.
�
A
� new
plenary retail distribution license shall
not
be issued in a
municipality unless and until the number of such licenses existing in the
municipality is fewer than one for each 7,500 of its population
[
according to
the most recent estimates issued by the U.S. Bureau of the Census; provided,
however, in the year that the official federal decennial counts are received by
the Governor, those federal decennial counts shall be used
]
.

����
d.��� A municipality�s
population shall be determined pursuant to this section according to the most
recent estimates issued by the U.S. Bureau of the Census; provided, however, in
the year that the official federal decennial counts are received by the Governor,
those federal decennial counts shall be used.

(cf: P.L.1999, c.189, s.1)

���� 2.��� This act shall take
effect immediately.

STATEMENT

���� This bill allows the governing
body of a municipality to adopt an ordinance to reduce the population limit
necessary to issue additional plenary retail consumption licenses.

���� Under current law, plenary
retail consumption licenses authorize the sale of alcoholic beverages for
consumption on the licensed premises, which generally applies to bars and
restaurants.� The number of plenary retail consumption licenses issued by a municipality
is limited based on the population of that municipality.� A municipality may
issue plenary retail and seasonal retail consumption licenses until the
combined total number in the municipality is fewer than one license for each
3,000 municipal residents.� Due to this restriction, there is a shortage of
these licenses in some municipalities.�

���� To address this shortage, this
bill allows municipalities to adopt an ordinance to decrease the current
population limit of one license for every 3,000 municipal residents by 200
municipal residents each year over the course of the next five years until the
population limit is one license for every 2,000 municipal residents.� This
would allow municipalities to issue additional retail consumption licenses.