Background

In direct response to public demand for stricter enforcement of the laws concerning the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages in East Baton Rouge Parish, the Metropolitan Council created the Office of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) in 1981. The Office of Alcoholic Beverage Control licenses and regulates all businesses and individuals in East Baton Rouge Parish who sell, serve or dispense alcoholic beverages. The ABC office has continued to respond to those concerns, and is also committed to helping solve the problems associated with underage persons acquiring and consuming alcoholic beverages. Over the last 15 years, the ABC office has grown to meet the needs of a growing community.

Organization

The ABC office consists of a licensing division, an investigation/enforcement division, and a board comprising eight members. Members of the ABC board are appointed from the public at large by the Metropolitan Council and serve two-year terms. The ABC board meets bi-monthly to conduct hearings for businesses and individuals charged with violations of the Wine, Beer and Liquor Ordinance, review license applications, and discuss matters concerning the enforcement of the local alcohol laws.

Education

The ABC office is also committed to education. All persons involved in the business of dealing in alcohol are required to attend a responsible alcohol service class taught by ABC personnel before being issued a license.

Licensing

The ABC licensing division includes two sections: employee licenses and business licenses. Applications for these licenses are taken Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. All license applicants are subject to criminal record checks and must also attend the responsible alcohol service class before their licenses are issued.

Employee licenses are issued to all employees of Class A licensed businesses (classified employees) and Class B licensed businesses (retail clerks). The ABC office processes and issues more than 6,000 employee licenses each year. The fee for these licenses is $25 each. When applying for a retail clerk license, a current government-issued, pictured identification card must be presented. The only acceptable I.D. cards are: a Louisiana driver’s license, Louisiana I.D. card. Classified employee licenses have a two-year expiration date, and retail clerk licenses expire upon termination of their employment at the business listed on their license.

Business licenses are issued to all wholesale and retail businesses in East Baton Rouge Parish, except those businesses located within the city limits of Baker or Zachary. Class A licenses are issued to those businesses that sell or serve alcohol for consumption on the premises. Class B licenses are issued to those businesses that sell packaged alcohol for consumption off the licensed premises. Class C licenses are issued to wholesale distributors. The criteria for licensing a business to sell alcoholic beverages are set forth in the Wine, Beer, and Liquor Ordinance. Applicants for business licenses who also plan to work in the business are required to attend the same responsible alcohol service class as their employees. Business licenses are renewed on an annual basis. License fees are:

Class A Liquor: $500 + $5 permit fee. Class A Beer: $75.

Class B Liquor: $500 + $5 permit fee. Class B Beer: $60.

Class C Liquor: $500 + $5 permit fee. Class C Beer: $100.

Restaurants that hold a Class A alcohol license and wish to serve alcoholic beverages with meals on Sundays may apply for a Class R (restaurant) permit. The fee for this permit is $85, renewable on an annual basis. Those restaurants that wish to remain open for the sale of food only after 2:30 a.m. may apply for a Class RAH (restaurant after hours) permit. The fee for this permit is $50, renewable on an annual basis. The business license section also issues special event permits to businesses and organizations for $300 for wine, beer, and liquor, or $100 for beer only, per event. Special event permits are also issued to charitable, non-profit organizations at no cost.

More information can be found on the Business License Information sheet located on the grey area on the left hand side of this page.

Investigation/Enforcement

In an effort to maintain compliance with the laws, all businesses are routinely inspected by ABC investigators. All complaints are investigated, and citations are issued for violations. The enforcement division routinely conducts undercover "sting" investigations of businesses suspected of selling to minors. This is done with the assistance of an underage person who enters a business, accompanied by an undercover agent, and attempts to purchase an alcoholic beverage. The penalties for failure to check for identification can be severe. All violations are heard by the ABC Board, which has the authority to warn, fine and/or suspend the license of any business or individual, depending on the severity of the violation.

One accomplishment of the ABC office has been the creation, in 1993, of the Juvenile and Underage Drinking Enforcement (JUDE) Task Force. This task force targets underage persons who are caught violating alcohol laws. The JUDE Task Force has become a vital component of the ABC office’s efforts to curb the sale to, and possession by, underage persons of alcoholic beverages. The success of JUDE is due mainly to the commitment and participation of several agencies, forming a partnership, working to identify and solve these problems. This program is special in three ways:

It is made up of enforcement officers from the ABC Office, Sheriff's Office, and Baton Rouge Police Department, who work together to enforce the liquor laws on a regular basis, at night and on weekends.

It also works in conjunction with existing "zero tolerance" laws that provide for mandatory suspensions of alcohol licenses by the ABC Board, when the businesses are found guilty of selling to minors.

It then incorporates an education component sponsored by I-CARE and Juvenile Court, which offers an alternative to court by attending an alcohol awareness program taught by I-CARE instructors. (I-CARE is the alcohol and drug education division of the East Baton Rouge Parish school system.)

In addition to the support of local and state officials, JUDE has also become an award winning and nationally recognized program. In September 1996, the JUDE Task Force received the award for Innovative Program of the Year from the National Liquor Law Enforcement Association. This was one of only three annual awards given by this organization. The NLLEA is made up of 38 states, and also includes the District of Columbia, Canada, and Newfoundland. On June 11, 1997, the ABC Office was notified by the National Alcohol Beverage Control Association that the JUDE program had been selected as one of 23 "Best Practices" in a national review of more than 170 programs. This review was a two-year project conducted by the NABCA, and funded through a grant from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The JUDE program will be published in a "Best Practices" handbook, available from the NABCA in August 1997.

Interagency Cooperation

The ABC office has been a member and active participant of the Mayor President’s Anti-Drug Task Force and Community Partnership Coalition in East Baton Rouge Parish since its inception in 1989. The office has also been an active participant with representatives of various state, regional, and local agencies and organizations in efforts to form a Louisiana Coalition for Reducing Underage Drinking.