To amend sections 4303.29 and 4303.292 of the Revised Code to prohibit the transfer of ownership or the transfer of location of a C-1, C-2, or C-2x liquor permit in, or to a premises located in, a municipal corporation or the unincorporated area of a township in which the number of that class of permits actually issued exceeds the number of that class of permits allowed to be issued under population quota restrictions.

Section 1. That sections 4303.29 and 4303.292 of the Revised Code be amended to read as follows:

Sec. 4303.29.  (A) No permit, other than an H permit, shall be issued to a firm or partnership unless all the members of the firm or partnership are citizens of the United States. No permit, other than an H permit, shall be issued to an individual who is not a citizen of the United States. No permit, other than an E or H permit, shall be issued to any corporation organized under the laws of any country, territory, or state other than this state until it has furnished the division of liquor control with evidence that it has complied with the laws of this state relating to the transaction of business in this state.

The division may refuse to issue any permit to or refuse to renew any permit of any person convicted of any felony that is reasonably related to the person's fitness to operate a liquor permit business in this state. No holder of a permit shall sell, assign, transfer, or pledge the permit without the written consent of the division.

(B)(1) No D-3 permit shall be issued to any club unless the club has been continuously engaged in the activity specified in section 4303.15 of the Revised Code, as a qualification for that class of permit, for two years at the time the permit is issued.

(2)(a) Subject to division (B)(2)(b) of this section, upon application by properly qualified persons, one C-1 and C-2 permit shall be issued for each one thousand population or part of that population, and one D-1 and D-2 permit shall be issued for each two thousand population or part of that population, in each municipal corporation and in the unincorporated area of each township.

Subject to division (B)(2)(b) of this section, not more than one D-3, D-4, or D-5 permit shall be issued for each two thousand population or part of that population in any municipal corporation and in the unincorporated area of any township, except that, in any city of a population of fifty-five thousand or more, one D-3 permit may be issued for each fifteen hundred population or part of that population.

(b)(i) Division (B)(2)(a) of this section does not prohibit the transfer of location or the transfer of ownership and location of a C-1, C-2, D-1, D-2, D-3, or D-5 permit from a municipal corporation or the unincorporated area of a township in which the number of permits of that class exceeds the number of such permits authorized to be issued under division (B)(2)(a) of this section to an economic development project located in another municipal corporation or the unincorporated area of another township in which no additional permits of that class may be issued to the applicant under division (B)(2)(a) of this section, but the. The transfer of location or transfer of ownership and location of the permit may occur only if the applicant notifies the municipal corporation or township to which the location of the permit will be transferred regarding the transfer and that municipal corporation or township acknowledges in writing to the division of liquor control, at the time the application for the transfer of location or transfer of ownership and location of the permit is filed, that the transfer will be to an economic development project. This acknowledgment by the municipal corporation or township does not prohibit it from requesting a hearing under section 4303.26 of the Revised Code. The applicant is eligible to apply for and receive the transfer of location of the permit under division (B)(2)(b) of this section if all permits of that class that may be issued under division (B)(2)(a) of this section in the applicable municipal corporation or unincorporated area of the township have already been issued or if the number of applications filed for permits of that class in that municipal corporation or the unincorporated area of that township exceed the number of permits of that class that may be issued there under division (B)(2)(a) of this section.

A permit transferred under division (B)(2)(b) of this section may be subsequently transferred to a different owner at the same location, or to the same owner or a different owner at a different location in the same municipal corporation or in the unincorporated area of the same township, as long as the same or new location meets the economic development project criteria set forth in this section.

(ii) Factors that shall be used to determine the designation of an economic development project include, but are not limited to, architectural certification of the plans and the cost of the project, the number of jobs that will be created by the project, projected earnings of the project, projected tax revenues for the political subdivisions in which the project will be located, and the amount of financial investment in the project. The superintendent of liquor control shall determine whether the existing or proposed business that is seeking a permit described in division (B)(2)(b) of this section qualifies as an economic development project and, if the superintendent determines that it so qualifies, shall designate the business as an economic development project.

(3) Nothing in this section shall be construed to restrict the issuance of a permit to a municipal corporation for use at a municipally owned airport at which commercial airline companies operate regularly scheduled flights on which space is available to the public. A municipal corporation applying for a permit for such a municipally owned airport is exempt, in regard to that application, from the population restrictions contained in this section and from population quota restrictions contained in any rule of the liquor control commission. A municipal corporation applying for a D-1, D-2, D-3, D-4, or D-5 permit for such a municipally owned airport is subject to section 4303.31 of the Revised Code.

(4) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the issuance of a D permit to the board of trustees of a soldiers' memorial for a premises located at a soldiers' memorial established pursuant to Chapter 345. of the Revised Code. An application for a D permit by the board for those premises is exempt from the population restrictions contained in this section and from the population quota restrictions contained in any rule of the liquor control commission. The location of a D permit issued to the board for those premises shall not be transferred. A board of trustees of a soldiers' memorial applying for a D-1, D-2, D-3, D-4, or D-5 permit for the soldiers' memorial is subject to section 4303.31 of the Revised Code.

(5) Nothing in this section shall be construed to restrict the issuance of a permit for a premises located at a golf course owned by a municipal corporation, township, or county, owned by a park district created under Chapter 1545. of the Revised Code, or owned by the state. The location of such a permit issued on or after September 26, 1984, for a premises located at such a golf course shall not be transferred. Any application for such a permit is exempt from the population quota restrictions contained in this section and from the population quota restrictions contained in any rule of the liquor control commission. A municipal corporation, township, county, park district, or state agency applying for a D-1, D-2, D-3, D-4, or D-5 permit for such a golf course is subject to section 4303.31 of the Revised Code.

(6) As used in division (B)(6) of this section, "fair" has the same meaning as in section 991.01 of the Revised Code; "state fairgrounds" means the property that is held by the state for the purpose of conducting fairs, expositions, and exhibits and that is maintained and managed by the Ohio expositions commission under section 991.03 of the Revised Code; "capitol square" has the same meaning as in section 105.41 of the Revised Code; and "Ohio judicial center" means the site of the Ohio supreme court and its grounds.

Nothing in this section shall be construed to restrict the issuance of one or more D permits to one or more applicants for all or a part of the state fairgrounds, capitol square, or the Ohio judicial center. An application for a D permit for the state fairgrounds, capitol square, or the Ohio judicial center is exempt from the population quota restrictions contained in this section and from the population quota restrictions contained in any rule of the liquor control commission. The location of a D permit issued for the state fairgrounds, capitol square, or the Ohio judicial center shall not be transferred. An applicant for a D-1, D-2, D-3, or D-5 permit for the state fairgrounds is not subject to section 4303.31 of the Revised Code.

Pursuant to section 1711.09 of the Revised Code, the holder of a D permit issued for the state fairgrounds shall not deal in spirituous liquor at the state fairgrounds during, or for one week before or for three days after, any fair held at the state fairgrounds.

(7) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the issuance of a D permit for a premises located at a zoological park at which sales have been approved in an election held under former section 4301.356 of the Revised Code. An application for a D permit for such a premises is exempt from the population restrictions contained in this section, from the population quota restrictions contained in any rule of the liquor control commission, and from section 4303.31 of the Revised Code. The location of a D permit issued for a premises at such a zoological park shall not be transferred, and no quota or other restrictions shall be placed on the number of D permits that may be issued for a premises at such a zoological park.

(C)(1) No D-3, D-4, D-5, or D-5a permit shall be issued in any election precinct in any municipal corporation or in any election precinct in the unincorporated area of any township, in which at the November, 1933, election a majority of the electors voting thereon in the municipal corporation or in the unincorporated area of the township voted against the repeal of Section 9 of Article XV, Ohio Constitution, unless the sale of spirituous liquor by the glass is authorized by a majority vote of the electors voting on the question in the precinct at an election held pursuant to this section or by a majority vote of the electors of the precinct voting on question (C) at a special local option election held in the precinct pursuant to section 4301.35 of the Revised Code. Upon the request of an elector, the board of elections of the county that encompasses the precinct shall furnish the elector with a copy of the instructions prepared by the secretary of state under division (P) of section 3501.05 of the Revised Code and, within fifteen days after the request, a certificate of the number of signatures required for a valid petition under this section.

Upon the petition of thirty-five per cent of the total number of voters voting in any such precinct for the office of governor at the preceding general election, filed with the board of elections of the county in which such precinct is located not later than ninety days before a general election, the board shall prepare ballots and hold an election at such that general election upon the question of allowing spirituous liquor to be sold by the glass in such precinct. The ballots shall be approved in form by the secretary of state. The results of the election shall be certified by the board to the secretary of state, who shall certify the results to the division.

(2) No holder of a class D-3 permit issued for a boat or vessel shall sell spirituous liquor in any precinct, in which the election provided for in this section may be held, unless the sale of spirituous liquor by the drink has been authorized by vote of the electors as provided in this section or in section 4301.35 of the Revised Code.

(D) Any holder of a C or D permit whose permit premises were purchased in 1986 or 1987 by the state or any state agency for highway purposes shall be issued the same permit at another location notwithstanding any quota restrictions contained in this chapter or in any rule of the liquor control commission.

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) The division of liquor control shall refuse to transfer the ownership of, or to transfer the location of, a C-1, C-2, or C-2x permit if the transfer will be in, or to a premises located in, a municipal corporation or the unincorporated area of a township in which the number of permits of that class actually issued exceeds the number of permits of that class allowed under section 4303.29 of the Revised Code.

Section 2. That existing sections 4303.29 and 4303.292 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.