One big class action lawsuit coming up:

[Ravioli]

I love seeing that ludicrous 51% sign inside the DFW security area.

Oh... I went through the security screening, but that paper sign is going to keep me out of the bar at Chili's.

After 9/11 I saw some of the soldiers in the Chili's. I commented on the 51% rule to the bartender. He said I could go tell them if I felt that strongly about it.

 

[Half Fast]

Similarly, at our local “Gun & Drug”:

Been there, got the t shirt. One of my favorite shops!

 

[Half Fast]

Summary: 51% sign requires on premise consumption of alcohol and gross sales of alcohol is at least 51% of all revenue.

Obviously.

But is that annual revenue? Monthly revenue? Weekly? Hourly? Should the sign be displayed on a video screen that is connected to the cash register so it can be updated in real time?

If a county has a blue law that bans alcohol sales on Sunday, can the business use a different sign on Sunday than the rest of the week?

(Doesn't really matter to me; this is Texas' law, not Florida's. But it seems sorta weird. You could be stone sober and drinking coffee in a 51% place, yet commit a felony for possessing a weapon; or you could be drunk in a 49% place and legal.)

 

[TCABM]

Obviously.

But is that annual revenue? Monthly revenue? Weekly? Hourly? Should the sign be displayed on a video screen that is connected to the cash register so it can be updated in real time?

If a county has a blue law that bans alcohol sales on Sunday, can the business use a different sign on Sunday than the rest of the week?

(Doesn't really matter to me; this is Texas' law, not Florida's. But it seems sorta weird. You could be stone sober and drinking coffee in a 51% place, yet commit a felony for possessing a weapon; or you could be drunk in a 49% place and legal.)

More digging. Actually a great question to ask and a very poor assumption to make.

Summary on 51% rule decision: upon application for a TABC license to sell alcohol on premises or upon renewal, the commission determines whether or not the retailer will fall under the 51% rule, according to rules set forth by the commission. The applicant must provide any and all documentation requested by the commission in order to make the decision.

Summary on being intoxicated: prohibited no matter the location.


Full text Subchapter H, Tx Code 411:

Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code 104.06 – Monitoring of Gross Receipts
Current as of: 2016 | Check for updates | Other versions
(a) On the issuance and renewal of a license or permit that allows on-premises consumption of any alcoholic beverage the commission shall determine whether the holder receives, or for the issuance of a license or permit is to receive, 51 percent or more of the gross receipts of the premises for which the license or permit is issued from the holder’s sale or service of alcoholic beverages for on-premises consumption.
(b) The commission shall:
(1) adopt rules for making a determination under Subsection (a); and
(2) require a holder of a license or permit to provide any information or document that the commission needs to make a determination.

Full text Tx Penal Code §46.02 and 49.01:

§46.02
(d) A license holder commits an offense if, while intoxicated, the license holder carries a handgun under the authority of Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code, regardless of whether the handgun is concealed or carried in a shoulder or belt holster.

"Intoxicated" means:
(A) not having the normal use of mental or physical faculties by reason of the introduction of alcohol, a controlled substance, a drug, a dangerous drug, a combination of two or more of those substances, or any other substance into the body; or
(B) having an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more.

 

[Matthew]

More digging. Actually a great question to ask and a very poor assumption to make.

Summary on 51% rule decision: upon application for a TABC license to sell alcohol on premises or upon renewal, the commission determines whether or not the retailer will fall under the 51% rule, according to rules set forth by the commission. The applicant must provide any and all documentation requested by the commission in order to make the decision.

I figured there was also some attempt on the establishment, too, as to what sort of license and zoning it wanted to fall under. Do you want to be a bar or do you want to be a restaurant? If you want to be licensed as a restaurant you better keep your drink sales <51% and be able to pass an audit.

 

[Half Fast]

Ah! Sounds like once determined for purposes of the alcohol license, the 51% status is fixed regardless of how actual revenue may change. I suppose if alcohol revenue drops in the future, the business could apply for a new license to change the status.

So,.... I suppose, in theory, a business could qualify as less than 51%, and then increase alcohol sales in the future while retaining the original designation.

Politicians sure write weird laws.

 

[Half Fast]

And I suppose, since it's based on revenue, a business could sell you a 10-cent beer with every $5 order of peanuts and have low alcohol revenue.

Probably lots of ways to cook the books.

 

[TCABM]

@Half Fast. At application and renewal the commission makes that determination. I guess, if you really, really wanted to, you could set up a business to get past the 51% sign, but why?

Maybe where you’re at, there’s a propensity for concealed carry holders to be drink and carry.

Where I’m from, there’s a heavy emphasis on the responsibility and the law. No one licensed to carry in Texas will not have at least been educated that the way the code is written, any level of intoxication is too much when carrying, that the 51% sign is there to keep LTC holders from getting a felony charge, and that it’s a property/business owners responsibility to notify holders before they enter the premise whether or not they would be trespassing with a firearm.

Though I don’t like the trespass with a firearm provision, I see the logic behind the way the code is written. Gives everyone a choice and a responsibility to let others know about what choices have been made when discriminating against customers.

 

[Half Fast]

No reason I see to get around it; it's just a weird law. Florida's law is weird, too. Why not just go by BAC, like for driving? Charging a person with a felony who has not been drinking but merely enters a place that happens to get half its income from booze? Curiouser and curiouser...

 

[denverpilot]

§46.02
(d) A license holder commits an offense if, while intoxicated, the license holder carries a handgun under the authority of Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code, regardless of whether the handgun is concealed or carried in a shoulder or belt holster.

LOL. Freaking politicians.

You’d think with as many of them claim to be lawyers they’d see the problem with that last sentence. But then again, they’re usually the bad lawyers who couldn’t figure out how to make a living at it...

So, how about ankle holsters, belly bands, and thunder shirts... or just stuffing the thing in your underpants if that’s your gig? LOL.

Why did they bother to put that stupid “regardless” clause on it? It was quite clear without it.

Complete idiots write these things, don’t they?

 

[Matthew]

So,.... I suppose, in theory, a business could qualify as less than 51%, and then increase alcohol sales in the future while retaining the original designation.

Not so sure about that particular scenario. If you qualify as a restaurant at <51% but your sales actually show >=51% or greater to a state or county auditor, you probably risk losing your liquor license and big fines for running a bar disguised as a restaurant.

Used to be, in KS, the liquor laws were even goofier than they are now. And that 51% rule (or 35%, or whatever it was at the time), made a huge difference in how you could operate under your license.