To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives,

Pursuant to Article LVI, as amended by Article XC, Section 3 of the Amendments to the Constitution, I am returning to you for amendment House Bill No. 3676, “An Act Authorizing the Town of Burlington to Grant Additional Licenses for the Sale of All Alcoholic Beverages to be Drunk on the Premises.”

This bill was adopted in response to a home rule petition by the Town of Burlington and would permit the Town’s licensing authority to grant up to nine additional licenses for the sale of alcohol for on premises consumption.  I support the exercise of local discretion in the granting of licenses for the sale of alcohol.  I am concerned, however, that a technical error in the final language of the bill is likely to frustrate that exercise of discretion, contrary to the intent of the Town and the Legislature.

Accordingly, I recommend amending subsection (e) of Section 1 of the bill to clarify that the Town will have full authority to grant the additional licenses in its discretion upon passage of the bill.  The revised subsection (e) would therefore read as follows:

(e)  Any license granted pursuant to this act shall be issued not later than 5 years after the effective date of this act; provided, however, that a license originally granted within that time period may be granted to a new applicant pursuant to subsection (c) or (d) thereafter.

Respectfully submitted,

Charles D. Baker,

Governor