By JOHN KOZIOL

Staff Writer

LACONIA — In an even stronger restatement of its previous position, a state legislative committee has ruled that only the Legislature — and not the New Hampshire State Liquor Commission — can set restrictions on the size of so-called "beer tents."

State Rep. Betsey Patten, Moultonboro, who chairs the Joint Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules (JLCAR), said the committee has again rejected a proposal by the Liquor Commission that would have restricted "extension of service" licenses to areas that are no more than three times the rated occupancy of the licensee.

At Liquor Commission and JLCAR hearings on the proposed regulations this year, representatives for several restaurant owners in The Weirs had complained that the changes could have a chilling effect on their clients who have seating for only a modest number of patrons in their establishments but who for Bike Week seek the extension-of-service licenses to operate hospitality tents — also known as beer tents — some of which serve more than 1,000 patrons at a time.

In June, members of the JLCAR voted unanimously against the Liquor Commission rule changes, saying the commission did not have the legal authority to set the size of the areas to which the liquor licenses would be extended, nor could it deny a permit after a local government had given approval for the operation of a beer tent.

In Laconia, the municipal Motorcycle Technical Review Committee reviews all Bike Week site plans, including those for "beer tents." The MTRC has to approve a beer tent before the NHSLC will consider an applicant’s request for an extension-of-service license. The Laconia Fire Department sets the actual occupancy for the tents.

Following the JLCAR’s objection in June, the Liquor Commission reworked its proposed rule changes, but they again failed to be accepted by the JLCAR, said Patten, which again unanimously defeated them, but this time also forwarded a joint resolution to the state House and Senate saying that the commission could not set occupancy limitations on extension-of-service licenses.

As they did previously, the JLCAR members said they felt that the commission’s proposed changes were not consistent with the intent of the Legislature which seeks to maximize revenues, said Patten, nor that the commission had accurately assessed the financial impact of the rules upon licensees.

In the commission’s modified proposal, although a waiver could be obtained by a licensee to obtain an extension-of-service license for more than three times their rated occupancy, the fact remained that "if someone complained (about the extended service area) they could still shut it down no matter who approved it on the local level," said Patten.

As to the affected municipalities, Patten said the commission did not clearly explain whether someone from outside of a community could file a complaint with the commission and get the commission to revoke an extension-of-service license in another community.

Patten explained that the JLCAR’s joint resolution against the commission’s proposed changes "stops all action by the Liquor Commission until the Legislature takes action on our resolution." The Legislature next meets in January.

Previously, a Liquor Commission staff member has said that the commission could seek to introduce legislation to address the question of Bike Week beer tents specifically or could adopt the rule changes over the objection of the JLCAR, although such a move was unlikely, the staffer observed, since doing so makes the rules more susceptible to legal challenges than had they been approved by JLCAR.