Baltimore County - Alcoholic Beverages Licenses - Transfers
Summary
HB746 makes a targeted change to Baltimore County’s alcoholic beverages licensing law by extending and updating a temporary transfer program for certain Class B and Class D liquor licenses. Under the bill, the Board of License Commissioners for Baltimore County may approve the transfer of a qualifying license that existed on June 1, 2025, from an “eligible transferor district” to another election district between June 1, 2025 and May 31, 2028, subject to population-based licensing limits and other conditions.
The bill also caps the program at five total transfers, with no more than two licenses moving into any single election district. It adds an economic-development review component: when a transfer is proposed, the Board must notify the county Department of Economic and Workforce Development, and in some cases must deny the transfer if the applicant has not shown an appropriate future use for the vacated property or if the move would significantly harm the surrounding community. The bill preserves existing restrictions that transferred licenses generally may not be transferred again or converted to another class, and it treats these licenses as regular licenses, not exception licenses, for district cap calculations.
Impact
HB746 amends Title 13 of the Alcoholic Beverages and Cannabis Article as it applies only to Baltimore County. It changes the eligibility date and time window for license transfers, extends the transfer authority through May 31, 2028, and updates the statutory cap and district limits for transfers of Class B and Class D licenses. The bill also formalizes the role of the county’s economic development agency in evaluating the community and property impacts of a proposed transfer, which may affect both license holders seeking relocation and property owners left behind by a vacated licensed premises.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have been broadly noncontroversial and received unanimous support in both chambers, passing the House 137-0 and the Senate 47-0. The lack of recorded committee testimony or recorded opposition suggests general agreement that the measure is a narrow, local adjustment to manage liquor license transfers and related economic impacts in Baltimore County.
Contention
No major opposition is reflected in the available record. The main policy considerations embedded in the bill are balancing business relocation flexibility against neighborhood and property impacts, and limiting the number of transfers so the program does not significantly alter the county’s licensing structure. Any potential concern would likely center on whether the Board should deny transfers when a vacated property lacks a clear future use or when the move could negatively affect the surrounding community, but the bill’s unanimous votes indicate those safeguards were not contentious in practice.
An act to add Article 6 (commencing with Section 74298) to Chapter 5 of Part 46 of Division 7 of Title 3 of the Education Code, relating to community colleges.