Allows certain restaurants to advertise that patrons may consume alcohol purchased off the restaurant premises; allows restaurants to charge corkage or service fee.
Summary
S3389 amends New Jersey’s law governing alcohol consumption in restaurants that do not hold an on-premises liquor license. The bill removes the current statutory ban on advertising that a restaurant is BYOB, allowing these establishments to tell customers they may bring and consume their own alcoholic beverages on the premises. It also expressly extends the BYOB framework to cider and mead, in addition to wine and malt alcoholic beverages.
The bill further authorizes qualifying restaurants to charge an admission fee, corkage fee, or service fee to patrons who bring their own wine, beer, cider, or mead. It preserves the ability of municipalities and restaurant owners to prohibit alcohol consumption on their premises, and it keeps in place the general prohibition on allowing alcohol consumption where state or local law otherwise bars it. The bill takes effect immediately and amends P.L.1999, c.90, section 5 (C.2C:33-27).
Impact
If enacted, the bill would change New Jersey’s disorderly persons law by deleting the specific prohibition on BYOB advertising for restaurants without a liquor license and replacing it with an express authorization to advertise BYOB policies. It would also broaden the types of off-premises alcohol that may be brought into such restaurants to include cider and mead, and it would permit restaurants to impose corkage or service charges on patrons who do so. The measure affects restaurant operators, patrons, and local enforcement of alcohol-related rules, while leaving intact municipal authority and existing restrictions on alcohol consumption in prohibited settings.
Sentiment
The available context suggests generally favorable treatment of the bill’s policy goals, though no committee votes or transcripts are provided. The bill’s statement indicates it was introduced in response to a federal court decision finding New Jersey’s BYOB advertising ban unconstitutional under the First Amendment, which suggests the measure is intended to conform state law to that ruling. Overall, the bill appears framed as a clarification and modernization of existing BYOB rules rather than a major expansion of alcohol service rights.
Contention
The main point of contention is the shift from a prohibition on BYOB advertising to an affirmative right to advertise, which may raise concerns among those who favor tighter regulation of alcohol-related marketing or who want municipalities to retain broader control over restaurant alcohol practices. Another possible issue is the authorization of corkage or service fees, which could be viewed by patrons as an added cost but by restaurant owners as a way to manage BYOB service. The bill also reflects a legal tension between state alcohol regulation and First Amendment limits identified in the referenced federal court decision.
Carry Over
Allows certain restaurants to advertise that patrons may consume alcohol purchased off the restaurant premises; allows restaurants to charge corkage or service fee.