To amend sections 4301.04, 4303.26, 4303.292, and 4303.99 and to enact section 4303.294 of the Revised Code to revise the appeal procedures for the refusal to issue, renew, or transfer a retail liquor permit and to require permit holders that violate the laws governing liquor control to file the names and addresses of their employees with the Division of Liquor Control.

Section 1.  That sections 4301.04, 4303.26, 4303.292, and 4303.99 be amended and section 4303.294 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:

Sec. 4301.04. (A) The liquor control commission has the following powers, which it may exercise by the vote of a majority of the commissioners:

(A)(1) To suspend, revoke, and cancel permits. A majority of the commissioners constitutes a quorum for the transaction of any business, for the performance of any duty, or for the exercise of any power of the commission. No vacancy in the commission shall impair the right of the remaining commissioners to exercise all powers of the commission. The act of a majority of the commission, when in session, is the act of the commission. A finding, order, or decision of the commission to suspend a permit shall state and fix the effective date of the commencement and the period of duration of such the suspension. Such A finding, order, or decision of the commission to revoke or cancel a permit shall state and fix the effective date thereof.

(B)(2) To consider, hear, and determine all appeals authorized by Chapters 4301. and 4303. of the Revised Code, to be taken from any decision, determination, or order of the division of liquor control, and all complaints for the revocation of permits. The liquor control commission shall accord a hearing to any person appealing or complained against, at which such the person has the right to be present, to be represented by counsel, to provide for the submission of briefs, to offer evidence, and to require the attendance of witnesses.

Except as otherwise provided in division (A)(2) of this section, with regard to the hearing of an appeal from any decision rendered by the division on the issuance, renewal, or transfer of a permit under section 4303.292 of the Revised Code, the commission shall be confined to the record as certified to it by the division under that section. However, unless otherwise provided by law, the commission may grant a request for the admission of additional evidence when it is satisfied that the additional evidence is newly discovered and could not have been ascertained with reasonable diligence prior to the hearing before the division.

After a hearing that is held under this division, the commission may affirm the decision, determination, or order of the division if it finds, upon consideration of the entire record and any additional evidence that the commission has admitted, that the decision, determination, or order is supported by reliable, probative, and substantial evidence and is in accordance with law. In the absence of such a finding, the commission may reverse, vacate, or modify the decision, determination, or order or make another ruling that is supported by reliable, probative, and substantial evidence and is in accordance with law.

(C)(3) To adopt, repeal, and amend bylaws in relation to its meetings and the transaction of its business and regulating its procedure on appeal.

(D)(4) To consider and make recommendations upon any matter which that the superintendent of liquor control submits to it for recommendation and determine any matter which that the superintendent submits to it for determination.

(E)(5) To require of the superintendent and of any officer, department, board, or commission of the state and of any county, township, or municipal officer in this state, information with respect to the social and economic effects of such those chapters; and all such officers, departments, boards, and commissions shall furnish such information when requested in writing by the liquor control commission.

(F)(6) To submit to the governor amendments to any laws affecting the sale of intoxicating liquor in this state when it deems desirable.

(G)(B) For the purpose of any hearing or investigation which that they are respectively authorized or required by such those chapters to conduct, the liquor control commission or any member thereof, the superintendent, or any agent of the division designated in writing for that purpose, may administer oaths, take depositions, issue subpoenas, and compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of books, accounts, papers, records, documents, and testimony. In case of disobedience of any person with respect to an order of the commission or a subpoena issued by the liquor control commission or any member thereof, the superintendent, or such an agent, or on the refusal of a witness to testify to any matter regarding which the witness may be lawfully interrogated, a judge of the court of common pleas of the county in which the person resides, on application of any member of the liquor control commission or the superintendent, shall compel obedience by attachment proceedings as for contempt, as in the case of disobedience with respect to the requirements of a subpoena issued from such that court or a refusal to testify in such that court. Each officer who serves such a subpoena shall receive the same fees as a sheriff, and each witness who appears, in obedience to a subpoena, before the liquor control commission or any member thereof, or the superintendent, shall receive for attendance the fees and mileage provided for under section 119.094 of the Revised Code, which shall be audited and paid upon presentation of proper vouchers approved by any two members of the commission. No witness subpoenaed at the instance of a party other than the liquor control commission or any member thereof, the superintendent, or such an agent, is entitled to compensation unless the commission certifies that the testimony of the witness was material to the matter investigated.

Sec. 4303.26.  (A) Applications for regular permits authorized by sections 4303.02 to 4303.23 of the Revised Code may be filed with the division of liquor control. No permit shall be issued by the division until fifteen days after the application for it is filed. An applicant for the issuance of a new permit shall pay a processing fee of one hundred dollars when filing the application for the permit, if the permit is then available, or shall pay the processing fee when a permit becomes available, if it is not available when the applicant initially files the application. When an application for a new class C or D permit is filed, when class C or D permits become available, or when an application for transfer of ownership of a class C or D permit or transfer of a location of a class C or D permit is filed, no permit shall be issued, nor shall the location or the ownership of a permit be transferred, by the division until the division notifies the legislative authority of the municipal corporation, if the business or event is or is to be located within the corporate limits of a municipal corporation, or the clerk of the board of county commissioners and the fiscal officer of the board of township trustees in the county in which the business or event is or is to be conducted, if the business is or is to be located outside the corporate limits of a municipal corporation, and an opportunity is provided officials or employees of the municipal corporation or county and township, who shall be designated by the legislative authority of the municipal corporation or the board of county commissioners or board of township trustees, for a complete hearing upon the advisability of the issuance, transfer of ownership, or transfer of location of the permit. In this hearing, no objection to the issuance, transfer of ownership, or transfer of location of the permit shall be based upon noncompliance of the proposed permit premises with local zoning regulations which that prohibit the sale of beer or intoxicating liquor, in an area zoned for commercial or industrial uses, for a permit premises that would otherwise qualify for a proper permit issued by the division.

When the division sends notice to the legislative or executive authority of the political subdivision, as required by this section, the division shall also so notify, by certified mail, return receipt requested, or by personal service, the chief peace officer of the political subdivision. Upon the request of the chief peace officer, the division shall send the chief peace officer a copy of the application for the issuance or the transfer of ownership or location of the permit and all other documents or materials filed by the applicant or applicants in relation to the application. The chief peace officer may appear and testify, either in person or through a representative, at any hearing held on the advisability of the issuance, transfer of ownership, or transfer of location of the permit. The hearing shall be held in the central office of the division, except that upon written request of the legislative authority of the municipal corporation or the board of county commissioners or board of township trustees, the hearing shall be held in the county seat of the county where the applicant's business is or is to be conducted.

If the business or event specified in an application for the issuance, transfer of ownership, or transfer of location of any regular permit authorized by sections 4303.02 to 4303.23 of the Revised Code, except for an F-2 permit, is, or is to be operated, within five hundred feet from the boundaries of a parcel of real estate having situated on it a school, church, library, public playground, or township park, no permit shall be issued, nor shall the location or the ownership of a permit be transferred, by the division until written notice of the filing of the application with the division is served, by certified mail, return receipt requested, or by personal service, upon the authorities in control of the school, church, library, public playground, or township park and an opportunity is provided them for a complete hearing upon the advisability of the issuance, transfer of ownership, or transfer of location of the permit. In this hearing, no objection to the issuance, transfer of ownership, or transfer of location of the permit shall be based upon the noncompliance of the proposed permit premises with local zoning regulations which that prohibit the sale of beer or intoxicating liquor, in an area zoned for commercial or industrial uses, for a permit premises that would otherwise qualify for a proper permit issued by the division. Upon the written request of any of these authorities, the hearing shall be held in the county seat of the county where the applicant's business is or is to be conducted.

A request for any hearing authorized by this section shall be made no later than thirty sixty days from the time of notification by the division. This thirty-day sixty-day period begins on the date the division mails notice to the legislative authority or the date on which the division mails notice to or, by personal service, serves notice upon, the institution. The division shall conduct a hearing if the request for the hearing is postmarked by the deadline date. The division may allow, upon cause shown by the requesting legislative authority or board, an extension of thirty additional days for the legislative authority of the municipal corporation, board of township trustees of the township, or board of county commissioners of the county in which a permit premises is or is to be located to object to the issuance, transfer of ownership, or transfer of location of a permit. The request for the extension shall be made by the legislative authority or board to the division no later than thirty days after the time of notification by the division.

(B)(1) When an application for transfer of ownership of a permit is filed with the division, the division shall give notice of the application to the department of taxation. Within twenty days after receiving this notification, the department of taxation shall notify the division of liquor control and the proposed transferee of the permit if the permit holder owes to this state any delinquent sales taxes or income taxes withheld from employee compensation or has failed to file any sales tax returns or employee income tax withholding returns, to the extent that the delinquent taxes and delinquent returns are known to the department of taxation at that time. The division shall not transfer ownership of the permit until returns known to be delinquent are filed and until the tax or withholding delinquency is resolved. As used in this division, "resolved" means that the tax or withholding delinquency has been paid or an amount sufficient to satisfy the delinquency is in escrow for the benefit of the state. The department of taxation shall notify the division of the resolution. After the division has received the notification from the department of taxation, the division may proceed to transfer ownership of the permit. Nothing in this division shall be construed to affect or limit the responsibilities or liabilities of the transferor or the transferee imposed by Chapter 5739. or 5747. of the Revised Code.

(2) Notwithstanding section 5703.21 of the Revised Code, nothing prohibits the department of taxation from disclosing to the division or to the proposed transferee or the proposed transferee's designated agent any information pursuant to division (B)(1) of this section.

(C) No F or F-2 permit shall be issued for an event until the applicant has, by means of a form that the division shall provide to the applicant, notified the chief peace officer of the political subdivision in which the event will be conducted of the date, time, place, and duration of the event.

(D) The division of liquor control shall notify an applicant for a permit authorized by sections 4303.02 to 4303.23 of the Revised Code of an action pending or judgment entered against a liquor permit premises, of which the division has knowledge, pursuant to section 3767.03 or 3767.05 of the Revised Code if the applicant is applying for a permit at the location of the premises that is the subject of the action under section 3767.03 or judgment under section 3767.05 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 4303.292.  (A) The division of liquor control may refuse to issue, transfer the ownership of, or renew, and shall refuse to transfer the location of, any retail permit issued under this chapter if it finds either of the following:

(1) That the applicant, or any partner, member, officer, director, or manager of the applicant, or, if the applicant is a corporation or limited liability company, any shareholder owning five per cent or more of the applicant's capital stock in the corporation or any member owning five per cent or more of either the voting interests or membership interests in the limited liability company:

(a) Has been convicted at any time of a crime that relates to fitness to operate a liquor establishment;

(b) Has operated liquor permit businesses in a manner that demonstrates a disregard for the laws, regulations, or local ordinances of this state or any other state;

(c) Has misrepresented a material fact in applying to the division for a permit; or

(d) Is in the habit of using alcoholic beverages or dangerous drugs to excess, or is addicted to the use of narcotics.

(2) That the place for which the permit is sought:

(a) Does not conform to the building, safety, or health requirements of the governing body of the county or municipal corporation in which the place is located. As used in division (A)(2)(a) of this section, "building, safety, or health requirements" does not include local zoning ordinances. The validity of local zoning regulations shall not be affected by this section.

(b) Is so constructed or arranged that law enforcement officers and duly authorized agents of the division are prevented from reasonable access to rooms within which beer or intoxicating liquor is to be sold or consumed;

(c) Is so located with respect to the neighborhood that substantial interference with public decency, sobriety, peace, or good order would result from the issuance, renewal, transfer of location, or transfer of ownership of the permit and operation under it by the applicant; or

(d) Has been declared a nuisance pursuant to Chapter 3767. of the Revised Code since the time of the most recent issuance, renewal, or transfer of ownership or location of the liquor permit.

(B) The division of liquor control may refuse to issue or transfer the ownership of, and shall refuse to transfer the location of, any retail permit issued under this chapter if it finds either of the following:

(1) That the place for which the permit is sought is so situated with respect to any school, church, library, public playground, or hospital that the operation of the liquor establishment will substantially and adversely affect or interfere with the normal, orderly conduct of the affairs of those facilities or institutions;

(2) That the number of permits already existent in the neighborhood is such that the issuance or transfer of location of a permit would be detrimental to and substantially interfere with the morals, safety, or welfare of the public. In reaching a conclusion in this respect, the division shall consider, in light of the purposes of this chapter and Chapters 4301. and 4399. of the Revised Code, the character and population of the neighborhood, the number and location of similar permits in the neighborhood, the number and location of all other permits in the neighborhood, and the effect the issuance or transfer of location of a permit would have on the neighborhood.

(C) The division of liquor control shall not transfer the location or transfer the ownership and location of a permit under division (B)(2)(b) of section 4303.29 of the Revised Code unless the permit is transferred to an economic development project.

(D) The division of liquor control shall refuse to issue, renew, transfer the ownership of, or transfer the location of a retail permit under this chapter if the applicant is or has been convicted of a violation of division (C)(1) of section 2913.46 of the Revised Code.

(E) The division of liquor control shall refuse to transfer the ownership of or transfer the location of a retail permit under this chapter while criminal proceedings are pending against the holder of the permit for a violation of division (C)(1) of section 2913.46 of the Revised Code. The department of public safety shall notify the division whenever criminal proceedings have commenced for a violation of division (C)(1) of section 2913.46 of the Revised Code.

(F) The division of liquor control shall refuse to issue, renew, or transfer the ownership or location of a retail permit under this chapter if the applicant has been found to be maintaining a nuisance under section 3767.05 of the Revised Code at the premises for which the issuance, renewal, or transfer of ownership or location of the retail permit is sought.

(G) In a proceeding for the refusal to issue, renew, transfer the ownership of, or transfer the location of any retail permit under this chapter, the division shall prepare, keep, and maintain a complete record of the proceedings. If an applicant for issuance, renewal, transfer of ownership, or transfer of the location of a retail permit appeals the decision of the division under section 4301.04 of the Revised Code, the division, within thirty days of notice of receipt of the applicant's appeal, shall prepare and certify a complete record of the proceedings in the case to the liquor control commission.

Sec. 4303.294.  (A) A person that has been issued a permit under this chapter and that has violated this chapter or Chapter 4301. of the Revised Code or rules adopted by the liquor control commission under section 4301.03 of the Revised Code shall file with the division of liquor control a roster of the names and addresses of the permit holder's current employees. If a name or address on the roster changes, the permit holder shall notify the division not later than five days after the change. If the permit holder is a corporation, firm, association, or partnership, an officer of the corporation, firm, association, or partnership shall be responsible for notifying the division.

(B) No person that has been issued a permit under this chapter shall fail to comply with this section.

Sec. 4303.99.  (A) Whoever violates section 4303.28 of the Revised Code shall be fined not less than one thousand nor more than twenty-five hundred dollars or imprisoned not less than six months nor more than one year.

(B) Whoever violates section 4303.36 of the Revised Code shall be fined not less than twenty-five nor more than one hundred dollars.

(C) Whoever violates section 4303.37 of the Revised Code shall be fined not less than twenty-five nor more than fifty dollars.

(D) Whoever violates division (B) of section 4303.202 or division (C) of section 4303.208 of the Revised Code is guilty of a misdemeanor of the fourth degree.

(E) Whoever violates section 4303.294 of the Revised Code is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree.

Section 2.  That existing sections 4301.04, 4303.26, 4303.292, and 4303.99 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.