A bill has been
introduced in the Indiana House which could potentially give Pavilion
Partners LLC another bite at the apple: HB 1247, authored by State Reps.
Sean Eberhart, R-57th, and Tom Dermody, R-20th.
Eberhart represents
Shelby County and much of Bartholomew County, southeast of Indianapolis;
Dermody, portions of LaPorte and Starke counties.
They serve together
on the Public Policy Committee.
Specifically, HB
1247 would do the following:
* Exempt any
“application for a retailer’s permit issued for economic development
purposes”--and pending before the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission on
or after Jan. 1--from local ABC proceedings.
* Prohibit the ATC
from denying a permit in a residential district on the ground that it “would
unreasonably impair the enjoyment of residents” or--in the case of an
application for a renewed permit--on the ground that the premises are a
“public nuisance.”
* Eliminate the
“good moral character” requirement for a beer retailer.
* Repeal the “high
and fine reputation” requirement for a liquor retailer’s permit.
* Repeal a
provision granting the ATC both express and implied powers.
* Repeal a
provision prohibiting a person from performing an indirect act or holding an
indirect interest, if the law prohibits a direct act or interest.
* And stipulate
that the ATC’s review of a local ABC ruling is not “de novo,” that is, that
its review does not actually constitute a brand-new hearing on the permit
application.
HB 1247, if enacted
as authored, would apparently send any new three-way application submitted
by Pavilion Partners directly to the ATC, bypassing the local ABC. It would
also apparently nullify most of the statutory grounds available for denying
the application.
SB 188, introduced
by State Sen. James Merritt, R-31, is a little different. It applies to any
three-way application submitted to the ATC by the Department of Natural
Resources on behalf of a state park. Any such application, however,
would similarly be exempt from ABC notifications and proceedings, exempt as
well from the “high and fine reputation” requirement.