Sec. 6.03. CITIZENSHIP REQUIREMENTS. (a) It is the public policy of this state and a purpose of this section to require that, except as provided in Subsection (k) of this section or otherwise in this code, a permit or license may not be issued to a person who was not a citizen of this state for a one-year period preceding the date of the filing of the person's application for a license or permit. In that regard, the legislature makes the findings in Subsections (b) through (j) of this section.

(b) Between 1920 and 1933, the distribution and consumption of alcoholic beverages was prohibited in the United States. While the idealistic motives behind Prohibition were noble, a law enforcement nightmare ensued. Otherwise law-abiding citizens routinely violated the law by buying and consuming alcoholic beverages. The demand for the illegal products created an opportunity for criminal elements to develop a national network for the supply and distribution of alcoholic beverages to the populace. Massive criminal empires were built on illicit profits from these unlawful activities and organized crime openly flourished in Chicago, New York, New Orleans, and other cities.

(c) During Prohibition, the illegal enterprises used their national wholesale distribution networks to exert control over their customers. A common operating procedure was to sell alcoholic beverages to a speakeasy on liberal terms to ensnarl the owner in a web of debt and control with the aim of forcing the owner to engage in other illegal business enterprises on the premises including gambling, prostitution, and the distribution of illegal drugs.

(d) In 1935, when the sale of alcoholic beverages was legalized in this state following the adoption of the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution, the state was faced with building an entire framework for the distribution of alcoholic beverage products. An important concern was that since criminals owned and controlled the existing illegal alcoholic beverage distribution system, criminals would attempt to own and control the newly legalized industry. In an effort to prevent this situation, comprehensive laws were adopted to ensure that an alcoholic beverage permit or license could be issued only to citizens of the state who had lived in this state for at least three years, thus, long enough to be known by their community and neighbors.

(e) Under the newly designed regulatory scheme, permits and licenses issued by the state did not grant the holder a right. Rather, the holder was granted a privilege that could be challenged at both the county and the state level if the character or qualifications of the applicant were suspect. Finally, strict cash and credit laws were adopted to prevent parties in the wholesale distribution system from controlling their retail customers through the leveraging of debt to accomplish other illicit gain.

(f) The alcoholic beverage laws adopted by the legislature in the 1930s to free the industry from the influence of organized crime have been successful in this state. The alcoholic beverage industry in this state is not dominated by organized crime. However, the legislature does find that organized crime continues to be a threat that should never be allowed to establish itself in the alcoholic beverage industry in this state.

(g) To accommodate the interests of the consuming public, the expansion of popular nationwide businesses, and the increasing state interest in tourism, and at the same time to guard against the threats of organized crime, unfair competition, and decreased opportunities for small businesses, the legislature finds that there is no longer need for the three-year residency requirements with regard to those segments of the industry that sell alcoholic beverages to the ultimate consumer only. The legislature finds that it is desirable to retain a one-year residency requirement for businesses that sell to the consumer packaged liquor and fortified wine capable of being used to supply legal or illegal bars and clubs. The legislature also finds it reasonable, desirable, and in the best interests of the state to provide a one-year residency requirement for businesses engaged in the wholesale distribution of malt beverages or wine or in the manufacture and distribution of distilled spirits and fortified wines at both the wholesale and the retail levels where those beverages, in unopened containers, are sold to mixed beverage permittees and private club registration permittees as well as to the general public. Adequate protection is deemed to be provided by controlling those sources of supply for distilled spirits and fortified wines.

(h) It is also the public policy of this state and a purpose of this section to enforce strict cash and credit laws as a means of preventing those engaged in the distribution of alcoholic beverages from exerting undue influence over any level of the industry selling or serving alcoholic beverages to the ultimate consumer.

(i) It is also the public policy of this state and a purpose of this section to maintain and enforce the three-tier system (strict separation between the manufacturing, wholesaling, and retailing levels of the industry) and thereby to prevent the creation or maintenance of a "tied house" as described and prohibited in Section 102.01 of this code.

(j) The above-stated public policies, purposes of this section, and legislative findings are provided as guidelines for the construction of the following subsections of this section.

(k) A requirement under this code that 51 percent or more of the stock of a corporation be owned by a person or persons who were citizens of this state for a one-year period preceding the date of the filing of an application for a license or permit does not apply to a corporation organized under the laws of this state that applies for a license or permit under Chapters 25, 26, 28, 30, 32, 48, 50, 69, 71, and 74 if:

(1) all of the officers and a majority of directors of the applicant corporation have resided within the state for a one-year period preceding the date of the application and each officer or director possesses the qualifications required of other applicants for permits and licenses;

(2) the applicant corporation and the applicant's shareholders have no direct or indirect ownership or other prohibited relationship with others engaged in the alcoholic beverage industry at different levels as provided by Chapter 102 and other provisions of this code;

(3) the applicant corporation is not precluded by law, rule, charter, or corporate bylaw from disclosing the applicant's shareholders to the commission; and

(4) the applicant corporation maintains its books and records relating to its alcoholic beverage operations in the state at its registered office or at a location in the state approved in writing by the commission.

(l) Corporations subject to Subsection (k) of this section that have substantially similar ownership may merge or consolidate. A fee of $100 shall be paid to the commission for each licensed or permitted premises that is merged or consolidated into the surviving corporation. The surviving corporation succeeds to all privileges of the prior corporation that held the permits or licenses if the surviving corporation is qualified to hold the permits or licenses under this code. For the purposes of this subsection, corporations have substantially similar ownership if 90 percent or more of the corporations is owned by the same person or persons or by the same corporation or corporations or if the surviving corporation has maintained an ownership interest in the merged or consolidated corporations since the date the original permit or license was issued.

Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 934, Sec. 16, eff. Sept. 1, 1993.

Amended by:

Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1359 (H.B. 1545), Sec. 21, eff. September 1, 2021.