4270345 Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration - Notice of Emergency Rulemaking - Public Safety Plan Requirements - 4/2/2013

ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE REGULATION ADMINISTRATION

ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL BOARD

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NOTICE OF EMERGENCY RULEMAKING

 

 

The Alcoholic Beverage Control Board (Board), pursuant to the authority set forth in D.C. Official Code § 25-211(b)(2012 Supp.), hereby gives notice of the adoption of emergency rules that create a new Section 720 of Chapter 7 (General Operating Requirements) of Title 23 (Alcoholic Beverages) of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (DCMR) and set forth the type of information that is required to be included in any public safety plan submitted to the Agency by an on-premise licensee.  

 

The Fiscal Year 2013 Budget Support Act of 2012 (Act) (D.C. Law 19-168), effective October 1, 2012, amends Section 25-723(c) of Title 25 of the D.C. Official Code to allow eligible on-premise retailer’s licensees to apply to the Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration (ABRA) to sell and serve alcoholic beverages until 4:00 a.m. and operate 24 hours a day on District or federal holidays and certain holiday weekends.  The Act requires eligible on-premise licensees to provide written notification of its intent to extend its hours of operation, and submit a public safety plan to ABRA once each calendar year no fewer than 30 days before the first holiday on which a licensee seeks to extend its hours of operation.  However, the Act does not indicate what information must be included or covered by a licensee in its public safety plan submission to ABRA.  This rulemaking clarifies what information an on-premise licensee must include in its public safety plan.

 

The Board conducted a public hearing on February 28, 2013.  The Board heard testimony from Andrew Kline on behalf of the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington (RAMW).  Mr. Kline applauded the Board for developing an easy form by which to provide the information required in a Safety Plan, but argued that the Plans themselves were unnecessary.  Mr. Kline further stated that this requirement adds nothing to improve public safety or enhance security measures; instead it creates a burden for those on-premises licensees who elect to stay open and operate one additional hour. Lastly, Mr. Kline invited the Board to join RAMW in its efforts to convince the Council of the District of Columbia to eliminate this requirement. 

 

The Board appreciates RAMW’s testimony, but it is not inclined to ask the Council to eliminate the requirement of Safety Plans.  To this end, the Board made no modifications to its initial emergency and proposed rules, and the rules remain unchanged as they were adopted by the Board on November 7, 2012.

 

These rules were adopted as final by the Board on March 20, 2013, by a vote of five (5) to zero (0).  Pursuant to D.C. Official Code § 25-211(b)(2)(2011 Supp.), the final rules are also being transmitted to the Council of the District of Columbia (Council) for a ninety (90) day period of review.  The final rules shall not become effective absent approval by the Council. 

 

These emergency rules were initially adopted by the Board on November 7, 2012, by a five (5) to zero (0) vote.  The rules became effective on that date.  These emergency rules were re-adopted by the Board on March 20, 2013, by a vote of five (5) to zero (0) to keep the existing moratorium in effect while the Council considers identical rules.  This emergency action is necessary for the purpose of maintaining public safety at those on-premise establishments that register with the Agency to sell and serve alcoholic beverages until 4:00 a.m. and operate 24 hours a day on District or federal holidays and certain holiday weekends.

 

The emergency rules will expire one hundred twenty (120) days from the date of adoption, (June 20, 2013), or upon the implementation of the final rules, effective five (5) day after publication in the D.C. Register, whichever occurs first.

 

Section 720, PUBLIC SAFETY PLAN REQUIREMENTS, of Chapter 7, GENERAL OPERATING REQUIREMENTS, of Title 23, ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, of the DCMR is added to read as follows:

 

720.1               An on-premise licensee shall be required to submit a public safety plan to ABRA in order to sell and serve alcoholic beverages and operate during the extended hours set forth in D.C. Code § 25-723(c)(1).

 

720.2               A public safety plan shall be submitted by the on-premise licensee, on a form prescribed by the Board, which at a minimum shall include the following information:

                       

(a)                The names and contact information for those individuals designated by the licensee to respond to any public safety issues that arise;

 

(b)               Whether the establishment will have any security cameras in operation;

 

(c)                The number and location of cameras used by the establishment and the length of time that video recordings will be kept;

 

(d)               Whether the establishment will have any security working during the extended hours of operation;

 

(e)                The number of security personnel to be present for the extended hours and the type of security training that security personnel have received;

 

(f)                Whether the establishment will maintain an incident log; and

 

(g)               What are the establishment’s procedures for ensuring that intoxicated persons and minors are not served alcoholic beverages.

 

720.3               An on-premise licensee may utilize an existing security plan on file with ABRA to fulfill the public safety plan requirement set forth in § 720.1.