NC: Davis: Controversial ABC bill will change or die
Changes to definition of private clubs generates backlash
By Tim Buckland, Star News Staff
May 24, 2018
RALEIGH — A controversial bill that ostensibly would make it impossible to open a new bar in North Carolina serving mixed drinks but no food likely won’t see the light of day in its current form, said one of its co-sponsors, N.C. Rep. Ted Davis, R-New Hanover.
“Having received negative comments and concerns about the language in the House bill, it is obvious that this legislation as it now stands is controversial,” Davis said in a text message Thursday morning that he later posted to his Facebook page.
House Bill 944, which has a companion bill in the Senate, SB 714, would more than double the fines the N.C. Alcohol Beverage Control Commission could levy for violations. But generating controversy is a section of the bill that would change the definition of private clubs — a classification used for member-only establishments that serve alcohol but no food — to be nonprofit institutions that have to be in business for a year before applying for an ABC permit.
Wilmington has several establishments that serve beer, wine and liquor without offering food, including Barbary Coast and Blue Post. The new classification would not apply to any permits that were in place as of April 1, according to the bill.
Davis said the bill originated from Sen. Andy Wells, R-Catawba, who has told media outlets that it came about after a shooting at a bar in Hickory and that its intent is to make it nearly impossible to open what is commonly known as a bar.
The bill will first be heard in the House ABC Committee, chaired by N.C. Rep. Jamie Boles, R-Moore. Should it clear that committee, it would move to the House Judiciary Committee, where Davis is the chairman.
“In the event that the bill does reach the Judiciary Committee without any changes from its present form, I am inclined to allow it to be heard for the limited purpose of discussion only to see if the objectionable portions can be resolved. If that cannot be accomplished, I do not intend to proceed to hear it for a vote,” Davis said.
Under current law, several types of outlets can serve alcohol, including theaters, convention centers, grocery stores and hotels. Others include restaurants, which have to generate at least 30 percent of sales from food; retail establishments, which can serve beer and wine — but not mixed drinks — without serving food; and private clubs, which serve alcohol but not food.
Davis said he became a co-sponsor because he served as co-chairman, along with Boles, of an interim Justice and Public Safety oversight committee. When a committee allows a bill to move forward, its co-chairmen serve as its sponsors, Davis said.
“This is standard procedure for an interim committee,” he said Wednesday in a phone call.
Davis said he received both “appropriate” and “inappropriate” criticism after the Port City Daily first reported the bill’s existence last week.
“I appreciated people who corresponded with me with valid concerns and valid recommendations on how to rewrite the bill to address those concerns,” Davis said. But in other criticism “I’m being told I’m an idiot. I’m being told I need to be voted out of office. I’m being told I want to close down bars. None of those are true.”
Davis said he was satisfied that the fines, which have been stagnant since 1980, should be increased. But he said the change related to private clubs concerns him, hence his decision to slow the bill should it reach the Judiciary Committee.
“That is by far the biggest complaint I have heard or push back I have heard about the bill,” he said.