2015 Oklahoma Statutes
Title 37. Intoxicating Liquors
§37-163.11. Retail permits from district court clerk.

A. It shall be unlawful for any person to maintain or operate any place where low-point beer, as herein defined, is sold for consumption on or off the premises without first securing a permit issued by the district court clerk of the county in which the premises are located.

B. 1. The person applying for a permit must file a verified application every three (3) years stating that he or she has never been convicted of violating any of the laws prohibiting the traffic in any spirituous, vinous, fermented or malt liquors or the laws related to the Uniform Controlled Dangerous Substances Act in this state or another state or the United States, or of any of the gambling laws of this state or another state or the United States, within three (3) years immediately preceding the date of his or her petition, or any of the laws commonly called "Prohibition Laws", or had any permit or license to sell low-point beer revoked in any county of this state within twelve (12) months.

2. A person who has been convicted of a felony shall not be eligible for a permit unless the person received a pardon for the felony or a period of ten (10) years has elapsed since the completion of the sentence imposed for the felony.

C. No permit shall be issued to sell low-point beer for on-premises consumption unless the person applying for such permit shall have signed an affidavit stating that the location of the building in which low-point beer is to be sold is not prohibited by the provisions of Section 163.27 of this title.

D. A fee of One Hundred Fifty Dollars ($150.00) shall be charged for the issuance or renewal of such three-year permit, which fee shall be deposited in the county court fund, in addition to other fees required by law.

E. Upon petition being filed, the district court clerk shall give fifteen (15) days' notice for an initial application, and it is the applicant's responsibility to cause the same to be posted by the entrance on the front of the building in which said low-point beer is to be sold and to file proof of posting in such case; and a copy of said notice shall also be mailed to the district attorney, the sheriff and the chief of police or marshal of any city or town in which the business is to be operated. The notice shall contain the name of the applicant and the location of the place of business. The initial permit shall be valid for a period of three (3) years and shall expire if not renewed with proper showing required by subsection B of this section, and upon payment of proper fees. A permit may be renewed within ten (10) days of expiration, upon proper application pursuant to subsection B of this section and payment of the proper fees, but without the payment of any late fees. Provided, however, that if a proper application under subsection B of this section is filed within eleven (11) days but not more than thirty (30) days after the expiration date of the permit, upon payment of a fee of One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) in addition to the initial permit fee, the court clerk is authorized to treat the application as one for renewal and to issue a renewal permit to the applicant, if all requirements have otherwise been met by the applicant. A renewal permit granted during the thirty-day grace period shall become effective upon the date of its issuance by the court clerk.

F. An application shall be denied upon any ground that would require the permit to be revoked.

G. A person who has obtained a permit pursuant to this section and who ceases to maintain or operate any place where low-point beer is sold for consumption on or off the premises shall be entitled to receive a refund of the permit fee from the district court clerk prorated with respect to the amount of time remaining until expiration of the permit, upon surrender of the existing permit to the district court clerk. The manner and prorated refund shall be prescribed by the Administrative Director of the Courts.

H. If there are no protests and the petition is sufficient on its face, then the permit shall be granted by the district court clerk. Provided, that if any citizen of the county files a written protest setting forth objections, then the district court clerk shall advise the chief judge who shall assign such petition to a district judge or associate district judge for hearing.

I. The application for the permit must be verified and in writing, contain the information above required, and must be set for hearing on a date named in the notice required to be posted.

J. All testimony before the district court shall be under oath.

K. A judge of the district court, upon five (5) days' notice to the person holding the permit, shall revoke the permit for any one of the following reasons:

1. Drunkenness of the person holding the permit or permitting any intoxicated person to loiter in or around his or her place of business;

2. Person under the influence of drugs or any controlled substance holding the permit or permitting any drugged or drug abusing person to loiter in or around his or her place of business;

3. The sale to any person under twenty-one (21) years of age of low-point beer;

4. Permitting persons under the age of twenty-one (21) in a separate or enclosed bar area which has as its main purpose the selling or serving of low-point beer for consumption on the premises, in violation of the provisions of Sections 241 through 246 of this title;

5. Nonpayment of any of the taxes or license fees imposed by the provisions of Section 163.1 et seq. of this title on complaint of the Oklahoma Tax Commission;

6. Violating any of the laws of the state commonly called "Prohibition Laws" or violating any of the gambling laws of the state or permitting anyone to violate any of the laws in such places or violating any of the provisions of Section 163.1 et seq. of this title;

7. Conviction for the violation of any of the laws of this state, another state or the United States for the sale or possession of intoxicating liquors within three (3) years immediately preceding the issuance of the dealer's license;

8. Violating any law pertaining to the use, possession, manufacture or sale of any controlled substance pursuant to the Uniform Controlled Dangerous Substances Act, or violation of any rule promulgated or order issued to control a new product or noncontrolled product or substance pursuant to Section 2-201 of Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes, or violation of any drug or narcotic law of the United States; or

9. A material false statement in the application.

L. After the revocation of any permit, for any of the above reasons, except paragraph 5 of subsection K of this section for nonpayment of taxes, or license fees, or except as otherwise provided in this subsection, no new permit shall be issued to the same person or to a relative of such person for the same location or premises prior to the expiration of a period of one (1) year from the date of the revocation. Upon the fourth or subsequent revocation of a permit for a violation of paragraph 3 or 4 of subsection K of this section, no new permit shall be issued to the same person or to a relative of such person for the same location or premises prior to the expiration of a period of three (3) years from the date of the revocation.

M. On or before the tenth day of each month each district court clerk shall file with the Oklahoma Tax Commission, on forms prescribed and furnished by the Commission, a report showing the name, address, and county permit number of each person to whom a county permit has been issued or whose permit has been revoked, or who shall have been refused a county permit, during the previous calendar month. In case of the revocation of a permit by a judge of the district court, the district court clerk shall within five (5) days report the action to the Oklahoma Tax Commission. If county permits shall have been issued, revoked or refused during the month, the district court clerk shall make a report accordingly to the Commission.

N. 1. Upon application to and approval by the court clerk of the district court, an applicant to be a retail dealer as defined by Section 163.2 of this title who meets the requirements of this section and Section 163.11a of this title may be granted a special event permit after payment of a fee of Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00) in addition to other fees required by law, which fees shall not be refundable or apportionable. A special event permit for the sale and on-premises consumption of low-point beer shall be issued fourteen (14) days after the date of filing with the district court of the application, unless a protest is filed as provided in this subsection.

2. Every application for a special event permit shall contain proof that a copy of the application has been mailed to the chief of police or marshal of the city or town, and the sheriff and district attorney of the county, wherein the special event is to be located.

a.If no objection is filed within ten (10) days after service of notice of the application, the court clerk may grant the special event permit.

b.If a written objection or request for restrictions is filed within ten (10) days after service of the application, a judge of the district court, upon five (5) days' notice to the applicant, chief of police or marshal of the city or town, and sheriff and district attorney of the county, where the event is to occur, shall determine whether the special permit should be granted, restricted or denied, based upon the totality of circumstances concerning the proposed event, including, but not limited to, the location of the event, qualifications of the applicant, history of the applicant, and specific concerns regarding public safety.

3. A special event permit issued under this subsection shall authorize the holder thereof to sell and distribute low-point beer for a period not to exceed ten (10) consecutive days from the date of issuance. A separate permit shall be required for each individual place of business, whether permanent or a temporary assemblage. Provided, retail dealers shall not be required to obtain a special permit for each bar or service unit within the same enclosed area or within the general vicinity of each other for events held outside a physical structure. A special event permit shall not be renewable. A municipality shall not, by ordinance or otherwise, refuse to issue a special event permit or special event license for any event for which the applicant has received a special event permit as provided in this section.

O. That the person demanded, was shown, and reasonably relied upon proof of age shall be a rebuttable presumption to any action brought pursuant to this section. A person cited for violating this section shall be deemed to have reasonably relied upon proof of age, and such person shall not be found guilty of such violation if:

1. The individual who purchased or received the low-point beer presented what a reasonable person would have believed was a driver license or other government-issued photo identification purporting to establish that such individual was twenty-one (21) years of age or older; or

2. The person cited for the violation confirmed the validity of the driver license or other government-issued photo identification presented by such individual by performing a transaction scan by means of a transaction scan device.

Provided, that this defense shall not relieve from liability any person cited for a violation of this section if such person failed to exercise reasonable diligence to determine whether the physical description and picture on the driver license or other government-issued photo identification was that of the individual who presented it. The availability of the defense described in this subsection does not affect the availability of any other defense under any other provision of law.

Added by Laws 1947, p. 291, § 11, emerg. eff. April 24, 1947. Amended by Laws 1951, p. 109, § 1; Laws 1968, c. 414, § 5, eff. Jan. 13, 1969; Laws 1970, c. 283, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1971; Laws 1978, c. 212, § 13, eff. July 1, 1978; Laws 1985, c. 170, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 1985; Laws 1987, c. 109, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 1987; Laws 1992, c. 357, § 12, eff. July 1, 1992; Laws 1994, c. 258, § 3, eff. Sept. 1, 1994; Laws 1995, c. 119, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995; Laws 1995, c. 274, § 17, eff. Nov. 1, 1995; Laws 1997, c. 235, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 1997; Laws 1997, c. 364, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 1997; Laws 2000, c. 107, § 2, eff. Nov. 1, 2000; Laws 2004, c. 170, § 2, eff. Nov. 1, 2004; Laws 2006, c. 61, § 7, eff. July 1, 2006; Laws 2012, c. 86, § 1, eff. July 1, 2012; Laws 2013, c. 205, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2013.

NOTE: Laws 1987, c. 77, § 1 repealed by Laws 1989, c. 340, § 8, emerg. eff. June 3, 1989 and Laws 1989, c. 353, § 14, emerg. eff. June 3, 1989.