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Minnesota Statutes 2001, Chapter 340A.
Copyright 2001 by the Office of Revisor of Statutes, State of Minnesota.

340A.410 License restrictions; general.

Subdivision 1. Counties; town consent. A county may not issue a retail license to sell any alcoholic beverage within an organized town unless the governing body of the town has consented to the issuance of the license.

Subd. 2. Counties; recommendation and review of applicants. (1) No county may issue or renew a retail license to sell any alcoholic beverage until the county board has received a written recommendation from the sheriff and county attorney stating that to the best of their knowledge that the applicant is eligible to be licensed under section 340A.402. A copy of the statements must be given to the town board if a town's consent is required for issuance of the license under subdivision 3.

(2) The county board shall consider the recommendations of the sheriff and county attorney, the character and reputation of the applicant, and the nature and location of the business prior to issuance of any license.

Subd. 3. License extension; death of licensee. In the case of the death of a retail licensee to sell alcoholic beverages, the personal representative is authorized to continue operation of the business for not more than 90 days after the death of the licensee.

Subd. 4. License posting. A retail license to sell alcoholic beverages must be posted in a conspicuous place in the premises for which it is used.

Subd. 4a. Repealed, 1996 c 418 s 18

Subd. 4b. Notice posting. (a) A premises licensed for the retail sale of alcoholic beverages and a municipal liquor store must post and maintain in a conspicuous place within the licensed premises clearly visible to consumers: one sign 14-1/2 inches wide by 8 inches high as designed by the commissioners of health and public safety, which incorporates the following information:

1. the penalties of driving while under the influence of alcohol;
2. penalties for serving alcoholic beverages to a person who is obviously intoxicated or under 21 years of age; and
3. a warning statement regarding drinking alcohol while pregnant.

(b) The commissioners of health and public safety shall design a sign that complies with this subdivision and shall make the sign available for reproduction. A retail licensee or municipal liquor store may not modify the sign design but may modify the color.

Subd. 5. Gambling prohibited. (a) Except as otherwise provided in this subdivision, no retail establishment licensed to sell alcoholic beverages may keep, possess, or operate, or permit the keeping, possession, or operation on the licensed premises of dice or any gambling device as defined in section 349.30, or permit gambling therein.

(b) Gambling equipment may be kept or operated and raffles conducted on licensed premises and adjoining rooms when the use of the gambling equipment is authorized by (1) chapter 349, (2) a tribal ordinance in conformity with the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, Public Law Number 100-497, or (3) a tribal-state compact authorized under section 3.9221.

(c) Lottery tickets may be purchased and sold within the licensed premises as authorized by the director of the lottery under chapter 349A.

(d) Dice may be kept and used on licensed premises and adjoining rooms as authorized by section 609.761, subdivision 4.

Subd. 6. Racial discrimination; clubs. No retail license to sell alcoholic beverages may be issued or renewed by a municipality or county to a club which discriminates against members or applicants for membership or guests of members on the basis of race.

Subd. 7. License limited to space specified. A licensing authority may issue a retail alcoholic beverage license only for a space that is compact and contiguous. A retail alcoholic beverage license is only effective for the licensed premises specified in the approved license application.

Subd. 8. Copy of summons. Every application for the issuance or renewal of intoxicating or 3.2 percent malt liquor licenses must include a copy of each summons received by the applicant under section 340A.802 during the preceding year.

Subd. 9. Coin-operated devices. Coin-operated amusement devices may not be made available in establishments licensed solely for the off-sale of intoxicating liquor or municipal stores which sell only at off-sale. An establishment holding a combination on-sale and off-sale license or a municipal liquor store which sells at on-sale and off-sale which makes coin-operated devices available shall keep such devices to the greatest extent practicable in that area of the establishment where on-sales are made.

Subd. 10. Temporary licenses; restrictions. (a) A municipality may not issue more than three four-day, four three-day, six two-day, or 12 one-day temporary licenses, in any combination not to exceed 12 days per year, under section 340A.404, subdivision 10, for the sale of alcoholic beverages to any one organization or registered political committee, or for any one location, within a 12-month period.

(b) A municipality may not issue more than one temporary license under section 340A.404, subdivision 10, for the sale of alcoholic beverages to any one organization or registered political committee, or for any one location, within any 30-day period unless the licenses are issued in connection with an event officially designated a community festival by the municipality.

This restriction does not apply to a municipality with a population of 5,000 or fewer people.

(c) A municipality that issues separate temporary wine and liquor licenses may separately apply the limitations contained in paragraphs (a) and (b) to the issuance of such licenses to any one organization or registered political committee, or for any one location.

HIST: 1985 c 305 art 6 s 10; 1Sp1986 c 3 art 1 s 39; 1987 c 152 art 1 s 1; 1987 c 381 s 4; 1989 c 334 art 6 s 5; 1991 c 178 s 1; 1991 c 249 s 12; 1993 c 350 s 10; 1994 c 611 s 21; 1995 c 42 s 2; 1996 c 323 s 1,4; 1996 c 418 s 8; 1998 c 364 s 5; 1999 c 187 s 1

340A.411 License restrictions; 3.2 percent malt liquor licenses.

Subdivision 1. On-sale licenses. On-sale 3.2 percent malt liquor licenses may only be issued to drugstores, restaurants, hotels, clubs, bowling centers, and establishments used exclusively for the sale of 3.2 percent malt liquor with the incidental sale of tobacco and soft drinks.

Subd. 2. License duration. All retail 3.2 percent malt liquor licenses must be issued for one year, except that for the purpose of coordinating the time of expiration of licenses in general, licenses may be issued for a shorter time, in which case a pro rata license fee must be charged.

Subd. 3. Terminology. A political subdivision may not issue a 3.2 percent malt liquor license that includes the term "nonintoxicating liquor."

HIST: 1985 c 305 art 6 s 11; 1987 c 5 s 3; 1987 c 152 art 1 s 1; 1991 c 249 s 31; 1996 c 323 s 2,3

340A.412 License restrictions; intoxicating liquor licenses.

Subdivision 1. Repealed, 1989 c 49 s 8

Subd. 2. Investigation of on-sale licenses. (a) The city or county having jurisdiction over on-sale licenses to sell intoxicating liquor shall on initial application for an on-sale license or on application for a transfer of an existing license conduct a preliminary background and financial investigation of the applicant. The application must be in the form prescribed by the commissioner and with any additional information as the governing body of the city or county having jurisdiction over the license requires. If the governing body of the city or county having jurisdiction determines or if the commissioner on the commissioner's own initiative determines that a comprehensive background and investigation of the applicant is necessary, the governing body may conduct the investigation itself or contract with the commissioner for the investigation. In addition, an investigation may be required prior to renewal of an existing on-sale license when the governing body of the city or county deems it in the public interest. An investigation fee not to exceed $500 shall be charged an applicant by the city or county if the investigation is conducted within the state, or the actual cost not to exceed $10,000 if the investigation is required outside the state.

(b) No license may be issued, transferred, or renewed if the results of the investigation show, to the satisfaction of the governing body, that issuance, transfer, or renewal would not be in the public interest.

Subd. 3. Limitations on issuance of licenses to one person or place. (a) A municipality may not issue more than one off-sale intoxicating liquor license to any one person or for any one place.

(b) A municipality may not allow the same business name to be used by more than one of its off-sale intoxicating liquor licensees.

(c) For purposes of this subdivision, "person" means:

1. a holder of an off-sale intoxicating liquor license;
2. an officer, director, agent, or employee of a holder of an off-sale intoxicating liquor license; or
3. an affiliate of a holder of an off-sale intoxicating liquor license, regardless of whether the affiliation is corporate or by management, direction, or control.

Subd. 4. Licenses prohibited in certain areas. (a) No license to sell intoxicating liquor may be issued within the following areas:

1. where restricted against commercial use through zoning ordinances and other proceedings or legal processes regularly had for that purpose, except licenses may be issued to restaurants in areas which were restricted against commercial uses after the establishment of the restaurant;
2. within the capitol or on the capitol grounds, except as provided under Laws 1983, chapter 259, section 9, or section 13, paragraph (b), of this act;
3. on the state fairgrounds or at any place in a city of the first class within one-half mile of the fairgrounds, except as otherwise provided by charter;
4. on the campus of the college of agriculture of the University of Minnesota or at any place in a city of the first class within one-half mile of the campus, provided that a city may issue one on-sale wine license in this area that is not included in the area described in clause (3), except as provided by charter;
5. within 1,000 feet of a state hospital, training school, reformatory, prison, or other institution under the supervision or control, in whole or in part, of the commissioner of human services or the commissioner of corrections;
6. in a town or municipality in which a majority of votes at the last election at which the question of license was voted upon were not in favor of license under section 340A.416, or within one-half mile of any such town or municipality, except that intoxicating liquor manufactured within this radius may be sold to be consumed outside it;
7. at any place on the east side of the Mississippi River within one-tenth of a mile of the main building of the University of Minnesota unless (i) the licensed establishment is on property owned or operated by a nonprofit corporation organized prior to January 1, 1940, for and by former students of the University of Minnesota, or (ii) the licensed premises is Northrop Auditorium;
8. within 1,500 feet of a state university, except that:
   (i) the minimum distance in the case of Winona and Southwest State University is 1,200 feet;
   (ii) within 1,500 feet of St. Cloud State University one on-sale wine and two off-sale intoxicating liquor licenses may be issued, measured by a direct line from the nearest corner of the administration building to the main entrance of the licensed establishment;
   (iii) at Mankato State University the distance is measured from the front door of the student union of the Highland campus;
   (iv) a temporary license under section 340A.404, subdivision 10, may be issued to a location on the grounds of a state university for an event sponsored or approved by the state university; and
   (v) this restriction does not apply to the area surrounding the premises leased by Metropolitan State University at 730 Hennepin Avenue South in Minneapolis; and
9. within 1,500 feet of any public school that is not within a city.

(b) The restrictions of this subdivision do not apply to a manufacturer or wholesaler of intoxicating liquor or to a drugstore or to a person who had a license originally issued lawfully prior to July 1, 1967.

Subd. 5. Licenses in connection with premises of another. An intoxicating liquor license may not be issued to a person in connection with the premises of another to whom a license could not be issued under the provisions of this chapter. This subdivision does not prevent the granting of a license to a proper lessee because the person has leased the premises of a minor, a noncitizen who is not a resident alien, or a person who has been convicted of a crime other than a violation of this chapter.

Subd. 6. Off-sale licenses where 3.2 percent malt liquor is sold. An off-sale intoxicating liquor license may not be issued to a place where 3.2 percent malt liquor is sold for consumption on the premises. This subdivision does not apply to those places where both an on-sale and off-sale license or a combination license have been issued under section 340A.406.

Subd. 7. Drugstores. No intoxicating liquor license may be issued to a person operating a drugstore unless the person has operated it for at least two years or has purchased a drugstore that has been in continuous operation for two or more years.

Subd. 8. Expiration date. All intoxicating liquor licenses issued by a county or a city, other than cities of the first class, must expire on the same date.

Subd. 9. License transfer. A license may be transferred with the consent of the issuing authority, provided that a license issued to a location at a racetrack licensed under chapter 240 may not be transferred. Where a license is held by a corporation, a change in ownership of ten percent or more of the stock of the corporation must be reported in writing to the authority who issued the license within ten days of the transfer.

Subd. 10. Employment of minors. No person under 18 years of age may serve or sell intoxicating liquor in a retail intoxicating liquor establishment.

Subd. 11. Reissuance of licenses in certain cities. A city having territory in which the sale of intoxicating liquor has been prohibited by law or charter and in which real property taken for a public purpose by negotiation or eminent domain proceedings was, immediately prior to the taking, actually and lawfully used for the sale of intoxicating liquor, may reissue the license previously issued to the location at any otherwise lawful location in the city. A change of location due to taking after July 1, 1972, must have been accomplished by July 1, 1976, but these licenses may be renewed, reissued, transferred, or relocated after that date.

Subd. 12. Off-site storage prohibition. A holder of a retail intoxicating liquor license or a municipal liquor store may not store any intoxicating liquor at any location other than the licensed premises except with the written permission of the commissioner.

Subd. 13. First class cities; renewal of inactive licenses prohibited. A city of the first class may not renew an on-sale intoxicating liquor license if the holder of the license has not made on-sales authorized by the license at any time during the one-year period immediately prior to the date of renewal.

Subd. 14. Exclusive liquor stores. (a) Except as otherwise provided in this subdivision, an exclusive liquor store may sell only the following items:

1. alcoholic beverages;
2. tobacco products;
3. ice;
4. beverages for mixing with intoxicating liquor;
5. soft drinks;
6. liqueur-filled candies;
7. food products that contain more than one-half of one percent alcohol by volume;
8. cork extraction devices;
9. books and videos on the use of alcoholic beverages;
10. magazines and other publications published primarily for information and education on alcoholic beverages; and
11. home brewing equipment.

(b) An exclusive liquor store that has an on-sale, or combination on-sale and off-sale license may sell food for on-premise consumption when authorized by the municipality issuing the license.

(c) An exclusive liquor store may offer live or recorded entertainment.

HIST: 1985 c 305 art 6 s 12; 1985 c 309 s 10; 1Sp1985 c 16 art 2 s 3 subd 1; 1Sp1986 c 3 art 1 s 40,41; 1987 c 152 art 1 s 1; 1987 c 310 s 11; 1991 c 249 s 13-15,31; 1992 c 486 s 9; 1994 c 611 s 22; 1995 c 198 s 10; 1998 c 364 s 6; 1999 c 202 s 5; 2001 c 193 s 3

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