| At 11:30 on March 18, The Tennessee General Assembly recessed until June 1. Bills which did not pass are still in play since they did not adjourn for the year. They adopted an emergency budget and a few other bills that were emergency in nature.
Since that time we have been working consistently with various agencies of the government in response to the emergency. Many of our members have closed or at least drastically reduced their activity. Initial issues had to do with unemployment for laid-off employees and potential loans or grants for employers. The unemployment services seem to be working, but Federal SBA grants and loans are still subject to legislation as yet unapproved by the U.S. Senate.
At the end of the week we negotiated with the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission towards getting the Governor to issue Executive Order 17 (a link is attached below). The order states that persons in the state of Tennessee shall not eat or drink on site at restaurants or bars. Restaurants and bars shall not be open to persons except only to offer drive-through, pick up, carry out, or delivery service for food or drink.
Section 5 of the order suspends certain laws and regulations to permit the sale for takeout and delivery of certain amounts of alcoholic beverages, wine or beer. It further requires that there be a sale of food in the same order. Any alcoholic beverage or beer sold pursuant to this order must be must be packaged in a container or bottle with a secure lid or cap. Customers are not permitted to remove the lids or caps while operating a motor vehicle. “Single servings of alcoholic beverages or beer and multi-serving bottles or containers of beer or wine normally sold by the restaurant may be sold “under paragraph five, but not bottles of spirits or liquor. The order also requires the posting of a notice containing language from the Tennessee Code Annotated prohibiting open containers while operating a motor vehicle. A sign may be downloaded from the Tennessee ABC website and must be prominently displayed on or near the door through which service occurs.
Any employee delivering such beverages Is required to “inspect a valid government issued document deemed acceptable to the restaurant that includes the photograph and birth date of the adult consumer attempting to make an alcoholic beverage purchase,” and is required to “inspect a valid government issued document deemed acceptable to the restaurant that includes the photograph and birth date of the adult consumer attempting to make an alcoholic beverage purchase.” Sales may be made directly to customers in their vehicle. The normal operating hours and other ABC restrictions are to be observed.
This order became effective at 12:01 AM on March 23 and lasts until 12:01 AM on April 6. Both times are in central time.
Finally, any state or local law inconsistent with this order is suspended. Some local governments have adopted rules relative to the sale of beer to go. Most of them are similar to what is adopted here. Where they are different, they are suspended.
Just to be clear and because it is the most common question asked, liquor by the drink licensees can sell bottles of wine and bottles of beer to customers outside their facility. Bottles of spirits may not be sold in this way. Alcoholic beverages may only be sold if they are packaged in a container or bottle with a secure lid or cap. The sale of bottles of spirits is specifically precluded.
As time passes, you may wish to be aware that this order expires on April 6 at midnight. We don’t know what will happen thereafter.
The various pieces of legislation which we have discussed in previous reports are largely waiting the return of the general assembly on June 1. At this point, they seem less than important.. We are doing whatever we can to try to keep our members in business going forward. I would like to think Russell Thomas, Executive Director of the Tennessee alcoholic beverage commission for his willingness to move forward on this proposition in a hurry. In addition, Governor Lee‘s staff turned a draft into an actual order within a matter of hours. I’d also like to thank Ginna Burrell of Gullett Sanford for her work on this issue. Rob Mortensen has been a daily sounding board that helped us to get this done. Let us know how it can be improved.
Attached below is executive order 17 and a copy of the frequently asked asked questions and responses from Director Thomas at the ABC, together with a list of the bills you are following. |
