HB 5425 — AN ACT CONCERNING RAILWAYS AND ALCOHOLIC LIQUOR.

House ofBill Representatives File No.

9545425 GeneralPublic AssemblyAct January Session, 2025(Reprint of File No.

300)25-40 HouseAN BillACT No.CONCERNING RAILWAYS AND ALCOHOLIC LIQUOR.

5425 As Amended by House Amendment Schedule "A" Approved by the Legislative Commissioner May 27, 2025 AN ACT CONCERNING RAILWAYS AND ALCOHOLIC LIQUOR.

The licensed premises shall at all times comply withalltheregulationsofthelocaldepartmentofhealth.Nothingherein shall be construed to require that any food be sold or purchased with any alcoholic liquor, nor shall any rule, regulation or standard be HB5425promulgated /or Fileenforced No.to require that sales of food be substantial or that the business's receipts from sales of alcoholic liquor equal any set percentage oftotalreceiptsfromallsalesmade onthelicensedpremises.

954A HB5425cafe Filepermit shall allow, with the prior approval of the Department of Consumer Protection, alcoholic liquor to be served at tables in outside House Bill No.

9545425 promulgatedareas or enforced to require that salesare ofscreened food be substantial or thatnot thescreened business's receipts from salespublic ofview alcoholicwhere liquorpermitted equalby anyfire, setzoning percentageand oftotalreceiptsfromallsalesmadehealth onthelicensedpremises.regulations.

A cafe permit shall allow, with the prior approval of the Department of Consumer Protection, alcoholic liquor to be served at tables in outside areas that are screened or not screened from public view where permitted by fire, zoning and health regulations.

ThisGovernor's actAction: shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:

SectionApproved 1June July23, 1, 2025 30-22a(a)Public HB5425Act / File No.

95425-40 HB54252 Fileof No.2

954 The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose.

In general, fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional knowledge.

Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.

OFA Fiscal Note State Impact:

Agency Affected Fund-Effect FY 26 $ FY 27 $ Resources of the General Fund GF - Potential Up to Up to Revenue Loss 18,000 18,000 Note:

GF=General Fund Municipal Impact:

None Explanation The bill reduces the annual fee for a café permit from $2,000 to $200 for railways resulting in a potential revenue loss to the General Fund of up to $18,000 per year.

The potential revenue loss is dependent on how many café liquor permittees meet the requirements of a railway.

It is anticipated this will affect less than ten café permittees.

House "A" strikes the underlying bill and its associated fiscal impact resulting in the impact described above.

The Out Years The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would continue into the future subject to the number of railways applying for a café permit.

HB5425 / File No.

954 HB5425 File No.

954 OLR Bill Analysis HB 5425 (as amended by House "A")* AN ACT CONCERNING HERITAGE RAILWAYS AND ALCOHOLIC LIQUOR.

SUMMARY This bill lowers the annual fee for cafe permits for a railway from $2,000 to $200.

By law, these cafe permits are for any corporation that operates a railway in Connecticut or that operates club, parlor, dining, buffet, or lounge cars on Connecticut railway lines.

The permit allows for the sale and public consumption of alcoholic liquor in any of these areas on the train.

*House Amendment “A” replaces the underlying bill, which established a short-term railway cafe permit and then allowed a permittee to convert to a cafe permit at a reduced annual fee.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

July 1, 2025 COMMITTEE ACTION General Law Committee Joint Favorable Yea 22 Nay 0 (03/12/2025) HB5425 / File No.

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