A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to clarify that the consumption of alcoholic beverages is prohibited during certain hours at places used primarily for commercial purposes and TO PREVENT REPEATED OCCURRENCES OF GROSSLY OVERCROWDED CONDITIONS AT AN ABC‑LICENSED PREMISES.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  G.S. 18B‑1004(a) reads as rewritten:
"(a)	Hours. – Except as otherwise provided in this section, it shall be unlawful to sell malt beverages, unfortified wine, fortified wine, or mixed beverages between the hours of 2:00 A.M. and 7:00 A.M. in any place that has been issued a permit under G.S. 18B‑1001, or to consume any of those alcoholic beverages between the hours of 2:30 A.M. and 7:00 A.M. in any place used primarily for commercial purposes."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 18B‑904(e) is amended by adding a new subdivision to read:
"(2a)	Notwithstanding G.S. 18B‑906 and any provision of Chapter 150B of the General Statutes to the contrary, the Commission shall immediately suspend permits issued by it for a period of 30 days upon receipt of notice from law enforcement that a permittee has received, within a 12‑month period for a single ABC‑licensed premises, two or more citations for violating State or local fire prevention codes by exceeding the posted occupancy capacity of the premises of the permittee by at least twenty‑five percent (25%)."
SECTION 3.  Section 2 of this act is effective when this act becomes law and applies to permittees receiving citations for violations on or after that date. The remainder of this act is effective when it becomes law.