Board warns delinquent licensees: special ABLE class set; licenses risk nonrenewal if training not completed

At a staff meeting following the April 13 Frederick County Liquor Board hearing, board staff warned that multiple license holders have not completed required ABLE training and outlined next steps to avoid renewal problems.

Dawn Sugars and other staff reported that renewal season has produced 328 licenses ready for end‑block approval but identified five or six holders who have not completed ABLE despite receiving multiple email notices, in‑person reminders and registration opportunities. Staff proposed a virtual special ABLE session to be offered to the delinquent licensees; board staff said attendees will be charged an administrative fee to cover the cost of running the special session and that they will be required to attend on the specified date. Dawn Sugars told the group she would contact the affected licensees directly with the date and that failure to attend would be referred to the board: “If you don't make it, I'm taking it to the board,” she said.

Staff proposed the following enforcement approach:

- Offer a special virtual ABLE class with a scheduled date (staff suggested May 6); licensees who must attend will be given one mandatory session date. - Charge an administrative fee (staff recommended $250 per licensee) to cover the cost of scheduling a special session. - Emphasize that licenses for which the statutory threshold is not met will not be renewed and could expire on April 30; applicants can request a hardship extension (heard at a board hearing), but extensions are limited and must be justified to the board.

Board staff also briefed members on tax‑release delays and other paperwork obstacles that have blocked some renewals; staff described situations where licensees had evidence of payments to the controller but lacked an official release document, and said the board will parse which cases are agency delays versus licensee inaction before deciding whether to grant conditional renewals or require reapplication. A virtual board hearing on April 27 was scheduled to consider hardship requests and other renewal exceptions.

Staff encouraged licensees to remain proactive with the comptroller's office and to provide proof of efforts to resolve tax holds. The board asked staff to prepare written notices to affected licensees that clearly state the date of the special ABLE session, the $250 administrative charge, and the consequence that failure to attend will jeopardize renewal.