Alert: Florida DABT Developing New Quota Lottery Rules
The annual public drawing for quota alcoholic beverage licenses, or “quota lottery,” may be the most closely followed regulatory event in the South. Tens of thousands of individuals and companies enter for the opportunity to win liquor licenses that are worth hundreds of thousands in many Florida counties. Given what is at stake for the entrants and the industry, it is reasonable for state regulators to periodically update their rules to reflect new priorities or technologies.
This morning the Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco took steps to do just that, announcing a July 11 public meeting to discuss potential changes to the rule governing the selection of winners. Given the stakes of the drawing, expect to see ample industry attention to any proposed changes to this particular rule is. Of course, Glover Law will attend the rulemaking hearing and provide updates as the quota lottery process is updated.
For ease of reference, the notice for the July 11 meeting and the current rule are reproduced below.
Notice of Meeting/Workshop Hearing: https://www.flrules.org/gateway/View_Notice.asp?id=28497259
RULE NO.: RULE TITLE:
61A-5.0105 Selection of Applicants for Quota Alcoholic Beverage Licenses by Public Drawing
The Department of Business and Professional Regulation announces a public meeting to which all persons are invited.
DATE AND TIME: Thursday, July 11, 2024, 2:00 p.m.
PLACE: Building C, Conference room 409, 2601 Blair Stone Road, Tallahassee, Florida, 32399
GENERAL SUBJECT MATTER TO BE CONSIDERED: Development of Rule 61A-5.0105, Selection of Applicants for Quota Alcoholic Beverage Licenses by Public Drawing
A copy of the agenda may be obtained by contacting…(see link)
61A-5.0105 Selection of Applicants for Quota Alcoholic Beverage Licenses by Public Drawing.
When quota alcoholic beverage licenses become available by reason of an increase in the population of a county, by reason of a county permitting the sale of intoxicating beverages when such sale had been prohibited, or by reason of the revocation of a quota beverage license, the division shall determine the order in which an interested applicant is considered for an available license by accepting and validating entries for a public drawing to be conducted in a manner of double random selection in accordance with section 561.19, F.S. Interested applicants must follow the procedures for drawing entry promulgated by this rule to be considered for selection in the drawing.
(1) To identify the population of eligible and interested applicants, an entry period for each quota alcoholic beverage license drawing shall begin on the third Monday in August and continue for a period of 45 days during any year in which one or more quota alcoholic beverage licenses has been determined to be available by reason of a circumstance provided in section 561.19, F.S. The division shall publish a legal notice in the Florida Administrative Register and on the division’s website at: http://www.myfloridalicense.com/DBPR/alcoholic-beverages-and-tobacco/, which shall include the name of each county in which a license is available for issuance, the number of licenses available for issuance in each county included in the drawing, the fee for filing of an entry form, the deadline for filing of an entry form, and the website address where the printable and online entry forms may be obtained.
(2) To enter the quota alcoholic beverage license drawing, an interested person shall submit the Quota Beverage License Drawing Entry Form DBPR ABT 6033, effective 7/2019 and incorporated herein, accompanied by the non-refundable entry fee stated on the form. The form may be submitted online, or a printed copy may be mailed to the address provided on the form. The entry form shall be received by the division on or before the date and time published as the entry deadline in the legal notice. To access the online entry form, visit DBPR Online Services at www.myfloridalicense.com/DBPR/online-services/. The online entry form will be available only during the qualifying dates of the entry period in a year in which a public drawing is scheduled. A copy of the online entry form is available at https://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-10898. A printable copy of the form is available on the division’s website at http://www.myfloridalicense.com/DBPR/alcoholic-beverages-and-tobacco/ and at https://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-10897.
(3) The division shall only process entry forms which are determined to be complete. Forms not complete, not signed, or not accompanied by the required non-refundable filing fee shall result in a deficiency letter. Corrected entry forms must be received by the division on or before fourteen (14) days from the date of the deficiency letter. The division will not grant any other extensions of time for filing entry forms. A complete entry form shall include the payment of the entry fee required to accompany the entry form. Upon expiration of the entry deadline published in the legal notice, any entry form for which payment of the entry fee has not been satisfied shall be deemed incomplete and shall not be included in the drawing.
(4) The division shall provide notice by certified mail to an entrant selected in the public. The notice of selection shall be sent to the entrant’s mailing address as listed on the entry form or as subsequently updated by the entrant upon written notification to the division. Each entrant is solely responsible for filing and maintaining a current and valid mailing address with the division.
(5) Upon notification by the division of selection in the public drawing, the selected entrant shall file a completed license application, referenced in rule 61A-5.010, F.A.C., within 45 days of the date of the selection notice. Any selected entrant that fails to file a completed license application within 45 days of the selection notice shall forfeit the selection priority awarded by the entrant’s selection in the drawing, and the division shall proceed with notification of the next entrant selected in sequential order of the drawing results for the county in which the license remains available for issuance.
(6) If the license application filed by a selected entrant is denied by the division, and any hearing or appeal, pursuant to sections 120.569, 120.57, 120.68 and 561.19(4), F.S., has concluded, or the time to file a petition or notice for such hearing or appeal has passed, the division shall proceed with notification of the next entrant selected in sequential order of the drawing results for the county in which the license remains available for issuance.
(7) Any person or persons selected by public drawing for the opportunity to apply for a quota alcoholic beverage license shall not be prohibited from filing an application to obtain the issuance of the license in the name of a corporation, or other legal entity, if 100 percent of the business or other legal entity is owned only by the person or persons listed on the drawing entry form as initially filed with the division.
(8) For the purposes of this section, “more than one applicant” shall mean that an entrant may have a direct or indirect interest in only one entry form in each county for which a license is available.
(9) For the purposes of this section, “method of double random selection by public drawing” shall mean a computer program developed by or under the direction of the division which determines the order of selection for the director in accordance with section 561.19(2)(a), F.S.
Rulemaking Authority 561.08, 561.11 FS. Law Implemented 561.08, 561.14, 561.15, 561.17, 561.18, 561.19, 561.20 FS. History–New 1-20-97, Amended 1-8-98, Amended 12-7-09, 8-12-19.