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Committee backs change letting independent theaters serve limited beer or wine at events; fee and annual renewal removed
Summary
A committee substitute for Senate Bill 159 would allow independent theaters to apply for a special dispensing license to serve limited alcohol (two 12‑oz beers or two 6‑oz wines per customer per event); committee cleared multiple technical amendments and voted a due‑pass on the substitute.
Senators in committee considered Senate Bill 159, which would create a special independent‑theater dispensing license allowing an owner, operator or employee who holds a server permit to dispense beer or wine to customers during movie screenings or other events.
Sponsor Senator Jaramillo said the license would permit “two 12‑ounce servings of beer or two 6‑ounce servings of wine per customer,” and described the change as aimed at helping small theaters host events and improve viability. Alan Saenz, owner of SALA Los Alamos event center, described operating challenges for small venues and supported the change.
Committee members removed an annual renewal requirement and a $100 fee from the proposed license and struck language that had required alcohol to be served with food. The sponsor proposed and the committee adopted language changes to clarify who may serve and when the license applies; for example, the committee substitute replaced an earlier phrasing to read that the license “shall allow an owner, operator, or employee … who holds a server permit to dispense beer or wine to customers … in conjunction with movie screenings or other events.”
After the sponsor moved a do‑not‑pass on the original and a do‑pass on the judiciary committee substitute (the 0.2 version with adopted edits), the committee recorded no objection and the substitute received a due‑pass recommendation.
What happens next: the committee substitute will be scheduled for further floor consideration. The transcript includes testimony from a theater owner and committee discussion focusing on limiting servings and removing fee/annual renewal language.
Quotable: “It is an old movie theater, that it closed because of COVID. It closed, and now we reopen it,” said Alan Saenz, owner of SALA Los Alamos, describing why the licensing change would help small operators.
