§ 10-50. Alcoholic beverage handling permits.

(a)

Any person, manager, or employee, who is responsible to sell, serve, deliver, dispense, or take orders for alcoholic beverages in restaurants, hotels, conference centers, lounges, stores, or any other business entity, or who handles alcoholic beverages in package stores, or who works as a security employee in any on-premises consumption or package store, whether or not such person is contracted or an employee of such package store or on-premises consumption location, shall apply to the police department for an alcoholic beverage handling permit or have a valid server permit issued from another law enforcement jurisdiction within Fayette County.

(b)

It shall be unlawful for any licensed establishment to hire any person, or to permit any person to work or assist in any capacity to sell, serve, deliver, dispense or take orders for alcoholic beverages, until such person has procured a city alcoholic beverage handling permit or have a valid server's permit issued from another law enforcement jurisdiction within Fayette County.

(c)

Alcoholic beverage handling permits shall not be issued to any person who has pled guilty to, or has been convicted of a violation of the provisions of this chapter, or any similar provisions from any other jurisdiction, or state law or convicted of a violation of any offense relating to the manufacture, sale or misuse of alcoholic beverages, including driving under the influence, within the preceding two years. For the purpose of this section an indictment, plea of guilty, or a plea of nolo contendere shall constitute a violation.

(d)

Alcoholic beverage handling permits shall not be issued to any person who has pled guilty more than once, or has been convicted more than once of a violation of the provisions of this chapter, or any similar provisions from any other jurisdiction, or state law relating to the manufacture or sale or use of alcoholic beverages, within the preceding five years prior to the date of application for a handling permit.

(e)

Alcoholic beverage handling permits shall not be issued to any person who has pled guilty to or been convicted of, or entered a plea of nolo contendere to any misdemeanor or felony relating to illegal gambling, soliciting for prostitution, pandering, letting premises for prostitution, keeping a disorderly place, illegal drugs/narcotics, theft, crimes of violence, sexual offenses, or any other crime opposed to the decency, morality, or public welfare (including identity and credit card fraud) within the preceding five years prior to the date of application for a handling permit. Additionally, alcoholic beverage handling permits will not be issued to any person who is serving probation for a felony sentence involving any felony described above.

(f)

City alcoholic beverage handling permits will be issued from the chief law enforcement officer of the participating jurisdiction within Fayette County.

(g)

It shall be unlawful for any licensed establishment employee to sell, serve, deliver, dispense or take orders for alcoholic beverages within the city limits without having been issued a valid alcoholic beverage handling permit from the chief of police of the city police department or a valid server's permit for another law enforcement jurisdiction within Fayette County.

(1)

Prior to selling, serving, delivering, dispensing or taking orders for alcoholic beverages, employees who work for a licensed establishment shall be photographed and cleared through a background investigation by the police department. The employees shall make themselves available for photographing and such other investigation, including fingerprinting, as may be required by the police department in accordance with state law and local ordinance.

(2)

Once cleared, a permit shall be issued to the employee indicating that such person is eligible to sell, serve, deliver, dispense or take orders for alcoholic beverages for the purpose of on-premises or off-premises consumption.

(3)

The alcoholic beverage handling permit may be used at multiple locations if requested by the applicant; however, when applying for a handling permit the applicant must list all applicable city locations for which the employee works. Proof of employment will be required for each location.

(4)

All alcoholic beverage handling permits are the sole and exclusive property of the city police department. Destruction, theft, defacement, or detriment of identification shall be punishable as a felony under state law.

(5)

It shall be unlawful for a person to alter, deface, or fraudulently reproduce a city alcoholic beverage handling permit.

(6)

The permit issued under this section shall be issued only to eligible persons who are at least 18 years of age.

(h)

No permit shall be issued until such time as a signed application has been filed with the chief of police and a background check has been completed. The applicant will submit an annual administrative processing fee of $25.00 to be included upon receipt of their application. In the event the applicant does not meet the eligibility requirements, the fee is nonrefundable. Such application shall include, but not be limited to, the name, current home address, telephone number, social security number, date of birth, place of birth, proof of the date of birth of the applicant and the identity of the applicant including at least one photographic identity card issued by a governmental agency, height, weight, hair and eye color and a list of prior arrests and time of service in jail or prison. The fact of an arrest record shall be used for investigative purposes only and shall give rise to no presumption or inference of guilt. Due to the inclusion of arrest information, these applications shall be regarded as confidential and shall not be produced for public inspection without a court order.

(1)

If there is no record of a violation of this article and the applicant is determined eligible, the chief of police shall issue an alcoholic beverage handling permit. If it is found that the applicant is ineligible the applicant will be notified that they do not meet the eligibility requirements.

(2)

Permits will be renewed annually prior to the expiration date indicated on the handling permit. Upon renewal, proof of completion of a course of instruction for servers must be submitted.

(3)

For those applicants who, within the past five-year period, have resided or currently reside in a state other than Georgia, the applicant must furnish to the chief of police a certified copy of a driver's history and criminal background history from the state or states in which he or she has resided or resides.

(4)

All permits issued through administrative error or through an error in the completion of a background investigation may be terminated by the chief of police.

(5)

An employee excluded from being granted a permit or maintaining a renewal permit under these terms shall have the right to appeal such exclusion to the appeal board which shall consist of chiefs of police from all participating jurisdictions within Fayette County. The decision of the appeal board shall be final. An applicant for a permit may appeal the decision of the appeal board by Writ of Certiorari to the Superior Court of Fayette County pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 5-4-1 et seq.

(i)

It shall be the responsibility of the licensee or license representative to acquaint all employees engaged in the sale or service of alcoholic beverages with the requirements of this chapter and state law regulating the handling, selling, serving, delivering, dispensing or taking orders for alcoholic beverages.

(j)

This section shall not be construed to require a permit of those employees whose duties are limited solely to those of busboy, stock clerk (see exception regarding package stores in subsection (a), cook or dishwasher, or any other employee whose duties do not include handling alcoholic beverages.

(k)

While on duty in any licensed establishment, every person required to possess an alcoholic beverage handling permit shall have their handling permit conspicuously displayed on their person and visible at all times. All permits issued under this section shall be made available for inspection upon the demand of any law enforcement officer employed by the city police department.

(1)

In any prosecution for violation of subsection (k) of this section, it shall be presumed that the manager or employee did not have a permit unless the permit was displayed as required in the same subsection (k).

(l)

If a permit is lost or stolen, the holder thereof shall immediately notify the issuing law enforcement agency and request a replacement, which for a fee of $10.00, shall be issued within three days following verification of the identity of the holder.

(m)

All licensed establishments will be in compliance within 90 days from the approval of this section by city council.

(n)

The penalty for violating any of the provisions of this section shall be a misdemeanor.

(Ord. No. 0-41-02, §§ 1, 2, 9-19-02; Ord. No. 0-10-08, art. 1, 5-1-08; Ord. No. 0-17-09, art. 1, 9-17-09; Ord. No. 0-19-12, art. 7, 9-20-12)