TCA § 57-3-806 — Certificate to accompany application for license — Contents — Requirements for renewal of license — Limitation on location of licensed premises — Review of denial of certificate

As a condition precedent to the issuance of a license under § 57-3-803, every applicant for a license under that section shall submit with the application to the commission a certificate signed by the county mayor or chair of the county commission in which the licensed premises are to be located if outside the corporate limits of a municipality or, if within a municipality, from the mayor or a majority of the commission, city council, or legislative body of the municipality, by whatsoever name designated, or if the municipality has no mayor, from the highest executive of the municipality. The issuance of a certificate must not be conditioned on the residency of the applicant, including, but not limited to, requiring the applicant to live within the county or municipality, or additional conditions not required by this section. The certificate remains valid unless there is a change of ownership or location. If either of these events occurs, a new certificate must be obtained prior to renewal. The certificate must state: That the applicant or applicants who are to be in actual charge of the business have not been convicted of a felony within a ten-year period immediately preceding the date of application and, if a corporation, that the executive officers or those in control have not been convicted of a felony within a ten-year period immediately preceding the date of the application; and That the applicant or applicants have secured a location for the business which complies with all zoning laws adopted by the local jurisdiction, as to the location of the business. Each applicant or officer identified in subdivision (b)(1)(A) must obtain and submit with the certificate a local and national criminal history record obtained from a third party using a multistate criminal records locator or other similar commercial nationwide database with validation. A criminal history record that indicates that the applicant or officer has not been convicted of a felony within the immediately preceding ten-year period serves as proof satisfactory that the applicant or officer has complied with subdivision (b)(1)(A). Municipalities and counties are not authorized to limit the number of retail food store wine licenses issued within their jurisdictions. In order to renew a retail food store wine license, the licensee must maintain a minimum of twenty percent (20%) of the licensee's sales taxable sales from the retail sale of food and food ingredients for human consumption taxed at the rate provided in § 67-6-228(a), such percentage to be calculated on an annual basis. The licensee shall keep sales and purchase records through accounting methods that are customary or reasonable in the retail food store business. A retail food store wine licensee who fails to comply with subdivision (d)(1) in achieving the minimum required sales or in failing to keep adequate records shall have one (1) year to come into compliance. During this one-year period, the licensee shall work with the commission in creating a plan that would bring the licensee into compliance with this subsection (d). Failure to comply after the one-year period shall result in the retail food store wine license being suspended or revoked by the commission. In order to determine compliance with subdivision (d)(1), each retail licensee shall submit sales information to the commission in such form as the commission deems appropriate at the time the licensee applies for a license or upon renewal of such license. Each licensee shall provide the licensee's sales tax registration number to the commission. The commission is authorized to verify sales information if the commission deems it necessary with the department of revenue. No retail food store wine license shall be issued to a retail food store located within a shopping center or other development unless documentation is provided to the commission that the retail food store has: Not prohibited or restricted, through its lease or other agreement with the owner of the shopping center or development, the sale of wine or other alcoholic products by others at the shopping center or development; or Waived any prohibition or restriction on the sale of wine or other alcoholic products, if such prohibition or restriction is in the lease. If an applicant for a retail food store wine license is the owner of the shopping center or development, the applicant shall waive any prohibition or restriction on the sale of wine or other alcoholic products on any other entity that is located within that shopping center or development owned by the applicant. Nothing in this subsection (e) shall prevent the nonapplicant owner of a shopping center from imposing restrictions on its tenants through its leases or agreements. An applicant may seek review of the denial of a certificate by instituting an action in the chancery court having jurisdiction over the municipality or county within sixty (60) days of the denial. A failure on the part of the issuing authority to grant or deny the certificate within sixty (60) days of the written application for such shall be deemed a granting of the certificate. The requirement imposed by this section to submit a certificate shall not be applicable to any applicant if: The authority of the county or municipality charged with the responsibility to issue the certificate required herein shall have failed to grant or deny the certificate within sixty (60) days after written application for such certificate is filed; or The applicant submits a final order of a court holding that the denial of the required certificate was unreasonable, as established by subsection (f).