Agenda - 01-23-2014 - 4a - Laserfiche WebLink

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H .,_ t gk Lt II STt] 11—EE£� .o H. . ,. -j'yr, Na.. 2:.7.. *y#VYf es z ABC COMMISSION FOCUSES ON REGULATORY ISSUES The North Carolina ABC Commission is a receipt supported agency housed in the Department of Commerce. No General Fund dollars are used to pay for Commission operations or for the local ABC stores, which are staffed and managed by the 168 ABC Boards across the state. During the last half of fiscal year 2013, the state ABC Commission increased the standard penalties for sales of alcohol to underage persons, disapproved alcohol packaging that would appeal to youth,and extended the period that businesses are being required to hold temporary rather than permanent permits. The state ABC Commission is the regulator of the roughly 18,000 businesses across the state that hold permits to manufacture, sell,serve or transport alcohol. But it is not the enforcement agency for alcohol laws. For that function, the state ABC Commission relies on local law enforcement agencies, the local ABC boards and the state Alcohol Law Enforcement, a division of the Department of Public Safety. The ABC Commission issued 7,890 new retail and commercial permits in fiscal year 2013, and ALE conducted the investigations to provide information to the Commission to determine whether permanent permits were appropriate for those locations. In the spring of 2013, the state ABC Commission implemented an internal reorganization. The Commission cut staff in some areas and added staff in others in order to focus resources on the regulatory responsibilities of the agency.After the realignment, the Commission took over from ALE the preliminary review and investigation of applicants for ABC permits.The purpose of this shift in responsibility has been to allow the sworn ALE agents to focus on law enforcement rather than administrative duties and to streamline the ABC permit application process in one state agency. 6