Amends TCA Title 57.

This bill authorizes the sale of wine and other alcoholic beverages, and beer, for on-premises consumption at food halls. This bill defines "food hall" as a public place with the geographic characteristics of the redevelopment of the Nashville convention center site and that includes at least 20 separate points of sale that regularly prepare and sell food. A food hall license authorizes the licensee to: (1) Operate multiple points of sale with different business names within the food hall. A licensee is not required to prepare or sell food as a condition of the license; and (2) Grant a franchise for the provision of alcoholic beverages to any person that regularly prepares and sells food on the food hall premises. A consumer who purchases an alcoholic beverage from a licensee or a franchisee will be able to move throughout the food hall premises with that beverage. The full text of this bill specifies the manner in which alcohol sales-related violations that occur at a food hall, such as an underage sale, will be investigated and penalized. This bill creates a presumption as to the point of sale based on the logo that appears on a beverage container. This bill authorizes a food hall licensee to suspend or revoke the privilege of a franchisee to sell beer and alcoholic beverages for an alcohol sales-related violation by providing written notice to the franchisee and the commission, which will be required to consider, but is not bound by, the licensee's sanctions. This bill levies an annual privilege tax of $1,250 for a food hall license and $625 for a food hall franchisee, payable by the licensee. ON APRIL 8, 2021, THE HOUSE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND RESET HOUSE BILL 674, AS AMENDED. AMENDMENT #1 revises various provisions of this bill, as follows: (1) Removes the provision of the bill that deems a franchise renewed upon renewal of a food hall license by the licensee and payment of the annual privilege tax for each franchise by the licensee; (2) Revises various enforcement provisions in this bill so that, under this amendment, each separate operating entity under the food hall license, whether the licensee or a franchisee, will be independently liable for violations committed by such operating entity, and a separate operating entity will not be held liable for the actions of another; provided, that the food hall license will not be renewed until all citations are resolved by an applicable operating entity. This amendment authorizes the commission to suspend or revoke the authority of a franchisee to operate under the food hall license without the operation of any other franchisee or the licensee under the license being affected. Each operating entity must provide sufficient information to the commission to where the commission is able to determine which operating entity may be liable in the event of a violation. This amendment removes the provisions of the bill: authorizing the commission to suspend or revoke the license of a licensee or a franchisee or fine a licensee or franchise upon considering certain factors: authorizing a licensee to suspend or revoke the privilege for a franchise to sell beer and alcohol for a violation by providing written notice to the franchisee and the commission; authorizing the commission to consider such suspension or revocation of a franchisee's privilege in connection with imposing sanctions; (3) This amendment removes this bill's provision for serving certain alcoholic beverages in unlabeled cups or glassware, or labeled cups or glassware identifying the licensee as the entity selling the alcoholic beverages or beer for on-premises consumption anywhere within the food hall; and (4) Adds that a food hall licensee does not have to use labeled cups and glassware, but a franchise authorized under this bill and a separately licensed restaurant under this bill must serve alcoholic beverages and beer in compliance with the requirements of the present law provision requiring certain entities to serve alcoholic beverages and beer in a glass or cup identifying the entity selling the alcoholic beverages or beer for on-premises consumption. This amendment specifies that a sticker identifying the franchisee or licensee, which is reasonably designed to stay affixed to a container, must comply with such present law provision. ON APRIL 15, 2021, THE HOUSE FURTHER CONSIDERED HOUSE BILL 674 AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 674, AS AMENDED.