Marvin Mandel, Governor                       1827

Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland,
That subsection (h-1) of Section 19 of Article 2B of the Annotated
Code of Maryland (1968 Replacement Volume), title "Alcoholic Bev-
erages," subtitle "Beer, Wine and Liquor Licenses," be and it is
hereby repealed and re-enacted, with amendments, and to read as
follows:

(h-1) Same—In Montgomery County such a license shall be is-
sued by the clerk, upon the advice and approval of the board of li-
cense commissioners, only to the owner of any restaurant or
hotel, having a minimum dining area of 1,000 square feet located in
the third, fourth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, or thirteenth elec-
tion districts of said county except in the towns of Poolesville,
Takoma Park and Kensington. As a prerequisite for the initial issu-
ance of a license under this subsection, the owner must attest in a
sworn statement that gross receipts from food sales in the restaurant
or hotel will be in excess of two times the gross receipts from the sale
of alcoholic beverages. As a prerequisite for each renewal of a li-
cense issued under this subsection, the owner must attest in a sworn
statement that the gross receipts from food sales in the restaurant
or hotel for the twelve-month period immediately preceding the
application for renewal have been in excess of two times the gross
receipts from the sale of alcoholic beverages. The board of license com-
missioners shall by rule and regulation provide for periodic inspec-
tion of the premises and for audits to determine the ratio of gross
receipts from the sale of food to gross receipts from the sale of
alcoholic beverages. Any rules and regulations adopted by the board
as aforesaid shall include a requirement of (1) at least monthly
physical inspections of the premises during the initial license year
of any licensee and (2) the submission by the licensee to the board,
during the initial license year aforesaid, of monthly statements
showing gross receipts from the sale of food and gross receipts
from the sale of alcoholic beverages for the immediately preceding
month. In the event that a licensee hereunder, during the initial
license year, shall fail to maintain gross receipts from the sale of
food at least twice those from the sale of alcoholic beverages for a
period of three consecutive months, the board, in its discretion, may
revoke the license. The board shall have the authority to require any
licensee to provide such supporting data as it, in its discretion, deems
necessary in order to establish that the requirements of this sec-
tion relating to the ratio of gross receipts from the sale of food to
those from the sale of alcoholic beverages have been met. For the
purposes of this section the term "dining area" shall be denned
as the area [normally] occupied by patrons for the purpose of the
consumption of food [,] and may include a waiting area where food

need not be served provided that there is no separate outdoor en-

trance to such waiting area. A license issued under this subsection
shall authorize the holder thereof to keep for sale and sell alcoholic
beverages for consumption on the premises only, and no alcoholic
beverages shall be served to patrons or consumed at any bar, counter,
cocktail lounge, or other room but in the dining area [rooms] only.
No signs, visible from the exterior of the building, advertising the
sale of alcoholic beverages shall be permitted in connection with any
restaurant or hotel holding a license issued hereunder. The annual
license fee for such a license shall be two thousand dollars ($2,000.00).