Gov. Phil Murphy on Tuesday delivered his 2023 State of the State address at the Assembly Chambers in Trenton. — Photo by Edwin Torres/Governor’s Office
By Joshua Burd
A long-awaited reform to New Jersey’s liquor license laws could be coming soon, as indicated Tuesday by Gov. Phil Murphy, who cast the overhaul as a top priority during his State of the State address and previewed a plan to tackle the hot-button issue.
Now entering his sixth year in office, Murphy asked lawmakers for their partnership “in rewriting our liquor license laws to make them not just modern, but fair,” as a means of expanding availability. He did so while echoing a complaint long made by the state’s commercial real estate industry, saying that “the old rules have purposely created market scarcity and driven up costs to the point where a liquor license can draw seven figures.”
“There’s no other way to put it — our liquor licensing regime is antiquated and confusing,” he said, according to a copy of his remarks. “We rely on a foundation of rules written in the days immediately after Prohibition to govern a 21st century economy. That makes no sense.”
It was among several agenda items that Murphy outlined during the hour-long speech in Trenton. Commercial developers and property owners have long called for such an update and an expansion of liquor licenses, arguing it would boost downtowns and mixed-use projects, but concerns about compensating existing license holders have stymied any attempt at reform.
The governor, who said restaurants and small, neighborhood establishments were among the hardest-hit business during the pandemic, highlighted attendees such as Millburn restaurateurs Ehren and Nadine Ryan. He also acknowledged “this won’t be easy, but it will be worth it,” noting that the number of liquor licenses currently allowed to be issued by any local government is one for every 3,000 residents.
To that end, Murphy proposed that, “over the next few years, we gradually relax this requirement and expand the number of available licenses until the restriction is eliminated in its entirety and the market can work freely.”
“Meanwhile, we can maintain the local control that is so critical in making sure our downtowns retain the character that makes them so special,” he said. “Now, I fully recognize that some restaurants have made significant up-front investments to obtain their current licenses. We must be fair to them and I propose a targeted tax credit to support them as the supply of licenses grows.”
While more details are likely to follow, the administration projects that overhauling the state’s liquor license regime will create upwards of 10,000 jobs annually and, over the next 10 years, generate up to $10 billion in new economic activity and $1 billion in new state and local revenues, he said. He also pointed to Ehren Ryan, chef and owner of Common Lot in Millburn, “adding that a liquor license can ensure the stability of his establishment.”
“For many small, independent restaurateurs — folks like Ehren, and many others like him in other communities, and especially those in Black and Brown communities where access to capital has historically been limited — that’s just too high a price to pay,” Murphy said. “Expanding the number of available liquor licenses will not only help keep our favorite local restaurants healthy, it will also help keep our economy healthy.”
Additionally, Murphy called on lawmakers to remove “outdated licensing and operating restrictions on our craft breweries, distilleries, and wineries, which are seeing nothing short of a true renaissance.”
“People from all across the Northeast, and indeed from across the country, are coming to taste what is being poured from bottles, taps, and barrels across New Jersey,” he said. “They are coming to enjoy one of the best and most diverse restaurant scenes of any state. It is absolutely imperative that we keep this renaissance going.”
Liquor license bill remains a balancing act despite support from developers, municipalities
