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After several months of meetings with liquor licensing
boards, mayors, the general public and the Ministry of Local Government, a bill
has been passed to amend the Intoxicating Liquor Licensing Act. Although it
appeared in the February 5, 2002, No. 5 issue of the Government
Gazette the Act came into effect "the 1st day of February, 2002." According to
local authorities, public meetings will be held in the near future to explain
the amendments to this Act. The "Green Paper" issued by
the Mayors' Association of Belize was the first publication to deal with
proposed changes to the Act. The major issues of the paper were covered in
several editions of this newspaper and on December 27 th the association held public
consultations with the general public by way of a radio talk show. A few of the
Cabinet concerns targeted in the "Green Paper," and addressed specifically in
the amendments to the Act, were the unlawful consumption of liquor on the
premises of shops (not licensed as such), sales of liquor to persons under the
age of 18, public drinking, and the fines and penalties for violation of the
laws. Possibly the most alarming change not
included in the "Green Paper" consultations is in regard to the sale of cold or
"refrigerated" beer. Essentially, beer, shop and hotel licenses will NOT be
allowed to sell cold beer any longer. Enacted to deter the number of people
illegally consuming beverages on the premises of liquor establishments, new
amendments state the following. Beer licenses are for the sale by retail of
"unrefrigerated beer or stout only in
sealed containers for consumption off the premises." Hotel licenses may sell
"liquor by retail for consumption on the premises," but the sale of liquor and
unrefrigerated beer, stout or wine in
sealed containers is only for consumption off the premises only to hotel guests or a bona fide traveler in person."
Shop licenses are defined as "for the sale by retail of liquor and/or unrefrigerated beer, stout
or wine for consumption off the premises." On a positive note, the proposed fee changes were reduced
for shop licenses and are now urban -$1000 (from $1200) and rural - $500 (from
$900). Another amendment not included in the "Green Paper"
proposals is that of the license category "hotel license (for multiple bars)"
which incurs fees of $2500 annually as opposed to a "hotel license (for single
bars)" with annual fees of $1500. These fees were increased from proposed fees
for hotel licenses published in the "Green Paper" (urban - $1350 and rural -
$900). Extension of opening hours passed into law
(subsection 3A) are as follows: (a) in the case of a hotel, publican special, or
special license hours may be extended for a maximum duration of two hours; (b)
in the case of a night club license, for a maximum duration of three hours. Fees
for hourly rates in respect of these extensions are listed in subsection 3B of
the Act. Amendments to Section 44 of the Act deals with
the underage drinking problem. It reads: 3A) stating that every holder of a
license issued under this Act or an employee of such license holder shall,
before selling liquor to any person, ascertain and be satisfied that the person
is over the age of eighteen years. 3B) Every holder of a publican special
license shall, before admitting any person onto any premises operated under such
license, ascertain and be satisfied that the person is over the age of eighteen
years. Subsection 3C states it is lawful
for the license holder or the employee of a license holder to
demand an identity card when ascertaining the age of any
person before selling any liquor or admitting such person onto the
premises. In regards to public drinking, a
new section (44A) "Prohibition of public drinking" was added which reads (1)
Subject to subsection (2), no person shall drink any liquor - a) on any public
road; b) in any drain, culvert, street, sidewalk or any other public place,
other than a "public place specified" in Section 65. Subsection (2) explains
that public drinking in a place specified must be "on the occasion of any public
dance, ball, celebration or entertainment, provided that: a) the liquor is not contained in any bottle, glass or metal
receptacle; but that the liquor is contained in a plastic receptacle. This
section (2) does not apply to the driver of a motor vehicle.
Substantial fines for violators of certain sections of
the liquor licensing laws are listed in a new section (65A) of the Act titled
"General penalty" as well as new license categories. Interested persons may read
a copy of the amended liquor laws at the San Pedro Town Hall.
Locally, the complaints registered with the San Pedro
Town Liquor Licensing Board were heard a few weeks ago in private meetings with
both license holders and complainants. Soundproofing of establishments was the
primary complaint for many of those attending. It was decided to give violators
the first quarter of this year to make the necessary changes to meet the
standards required by the law and then review the actions
taken. The San Pedro Town Liquor Licensing Board consists
of Chairman Santiago Acosta, and members Nicolas Varela, Manuel Del Valle,
Hector Salazar and Santiago Vasquez. Ex-oficio members are Mayor Alberto Nuñez,
Inspector Linden Flowers and Health Inspector Javier
Alpuche. Any concerns, comments or complaints regarding
local establishments or these amendments may be addressed in writing and mailed
to the Liquor Licensing Chairman at P.O. Box 54, San Pedro Town.
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