MLCC On The Road

Fundraisers, Festivals, and Fairs - Oh My!

• Michigan Liquor Control Commission (MLCC)

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With the summer event season right around the corner, we explore how nonprofit organizations can apply for Special Licenses to sell and serve alcohol at their fundraising events and how on-premises licensees (bars, restaurants, hotels) can add a Temporary Permit for outdoor service for their special events.  We discuss who can apply, what are common mistakes to avoid when submitting an application for a Special License or Temporary Permit, and the timeframe for applying (hint: earlier is always better).

For questions about Special Licenses and Temporary Permits, please email the MLCC's Licensing Division: lara-mlcc-licensing-information@michigan.gov.

Links to information on the MLCC website related to this episode:

The MLCC On The Road podcast is brought to you by the Michigan Liquor Control Commission (MLCC). For more information on the MLCC, please visit our website at www.michigan.gov/lcc. To submit a question or idea for a podcast topic, please email mlccinfo2@michigan.gov.

The mission of the Michigan Liquor Control Commission is to make alcoholic beverages available for consumption while protecting the consumer and the general public through regulation of those involved in the sale and distribution of these alcohol beverage products.

Speaker 00:

You're listening to the MLCC On The Road Podcast, brought to you by the Michigan Liquor Control Commission, with hosts Sara Weber and David Marvin. Welcome back to the MLCC On The Road Podcast. I'm David Marvin, and with me today is Sara Weber. And Sara, today we have a special guest, and I would like you to introduce our special guest for today.

Speaker 01:

Yes, today we have Brittany Jenks joining us. Brittany is one of the supervisors within the licensing division, and she is joining us to talk about special licenses as well as temporary authorizations. Before we get started, Brittany, do you want to give us a little bit of your background and how you came to the Liquor Control Commission? Sure. I

Speaker 02:

am the supervisor here. with the Liquor Control Commission, the licensing division. I started my career with the state 17 years ago in 2008. I've been with the MLCC for 16 of those 17 years. So I've moved around a little bit through the ranks and now I'm a supervisor and part of what I supervise is the special licensing area. I've been working with special licensing and temporary authorizations over the years. So I've got 14 years roughly that I've been working with the temporary authorizations for the on- So you've had a

Speaker 01:

pretty long career with the commission covering special licenses and temps. Let's start by having you talk briefly about what is the difference between a special license and a temp?

Speaker 02:

Well, a special license is issued to a nonprofit organization and it allows for that nonprofit organization to profit from the sale of alcohol. So these are organizations or entities that do not And this allows for them to be able to sell and serve and profit from the sale of the alcohol. A temporary authorization is issued to a on-premise licensee. that is licensed permanently with the MLCC, the temporary authorization allows for them to temporarily use their liquor license in an extended area. So a lot of times we have temporary outdoor service areas. An entity will do, say, a St. Patrick's Day event where they want more room. So they will extend their license out to their parking lot and they'll put a barrier up so that they can serve in that area. So those are issued to our already licensed licensed licensees.

Speaker 01:

One noted exception with the special licenses is they also may be applied for by our club license holders. Correct. If they intend to be open to the public? Yes, this is correct.

Speaker 02:

Because a club licensee is a non-profit.

Speaker 01:

The other question with the temps, you said an on-premise licensee. Can you expand on that a little bit? What does that mean to people who may not be familiar with our jargon? What is an on-premise license and who does that apply to?

Speaker 02:

On-premise licensee is an on-premise license for consumption on the premise? So we have on-premise, which is for consumption on the premise, which would be a bar or restaurant, tavern. And then off-premise is for consumption off the premise. So those are going to be our grocery stores, our corner stores that sell beer, wine, and liquor. Those are for consumption off the premise. So you go and you buy it and you take it with you.

Speaker 00:

The on-premises licensees, those are the only ones that can get the temporary? Correct. Okay. You mentioned a little bit about it. Let's elaborate a little bit more. Who can apply for a special license?

Speaker 02:

The special licenses are nonprofit entities, and we also have municipalities that are eligible to apply. The nonprofit entities and organizations should be filed with the state of Michigan, with our Corps and Securities Division. And with that, they have to be filed with them and in good standing with them as well to do business here in the state of Michigan.

Speaker 00:

Now, you said nonprofit and municipalities. Don't we also issue these to candidate committees for political campaigns?

Speaker 02:

We do. They have a different filing system with the state database that we look up for that.

Speaker 01:

What about churches? Do churches all have to be filed with the state of Michigan? Do they have to have an entity that they have formed in order to qualify for a license? Yes, they do.

Speaker 00:

So who cannot apply for a special license? If we have a bunch of people that can apply for them, there's gotta be some, I'm sure we've had people that have applied that haven't been eligible in the past.

Speaker 02:

Yes, so basically for-profit entities. So any of the for-profit entities cannot apply. They don't qualify. under our code and rule to apply for the special license.

Speaker 00:

So if I have a restaurant that doesn't have a liquor license and there's the local town festival, I couldn't apply for a special license just to sell alcohol one day a week or one day for that festival. No. So how many special licenses does the commission issue each year? It's got to be a fairly sizable amount.

Speaker 02:

It is. So I've got some numbers here. So in 2023, we processed 8,529. And in 2024, we processed 8,760. And the numbers increase each year. Each month, we get more. And each year, those numbers go up. Wow.

Speaker 01:

Is there a limit on the number of special licenses a nonprofit can request an year or is there a cap or is it open-ended 12 dates it is 12 dates per calendar year that they are allowed and that's the entity that is applied for the license so that 501c3 or however they identify themselves as being a non-profit entity or municipality they only get 12

Speaker 00:

correct and what does a special license application cost

Speaker 02:

the cost if your organization has been in existence for over a year and filed with the state of michigan corpse and securities to do business here The cost of that per day is $25. If you are less than a year, if you're a newer organization that's under a year, it's $50 per day. And a municipality's cost is $50 as well.

Speaker 01:

Brittany, are there any other fees that anyone applying should be aware of on the application form as they're filling it out? So you have your base fee. Are there other fees associated with this that they must also include? Yes.

Speaker 02:

So if they're going to be selling on a Sunday before noon, they would need to pay pay the Sunday sales AM fee, which is $160. If they are planning on serving spirits after noon on a Sunday, it's $3.75. Now,

Speaker 01:

is there any restrictions on the Sunday sales of alcohol? Or is that something that they should be reaching out to the municipality that they're going to be located at to verify? They

Speaker 02:

should make sure that the location of which the event is taking place, they should make sure that it is not a dry city, village, township and they should make sure that spirits are allowable to be served on a Sunday in that area. And typically, if they don't know, the police department should know because the police department does sign off on these. The police department for which the event location is located is who signs off on them.

Speaker 01:

And we did another podcast previously on dry LGUs. So if you are a repeat listener, you should know what that is.

Speaker 00:

Yeah. I was just going to say the exact same thing. I was going to put a plug in for a prior episode. You mentioned earlier that these are 12 dates. Does that mean that each license is only good for a certain amount of time? Correct. And what are those times?

Speaker 02:

So on the application, we will ask for the date of which you are holding your event. We will also ask the time slot of which you are having your event. So it could be noon to, say, 6 p.m., or 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. They cannot serve past 2 a.m.

Speaker 00:

So it's the same rules if I had a bar or a restaurant would apply then. Okay, so you could have a license from 7 a.m. to 2 a.m. the next morning. You could. Okay. So you mentioned that we approve almost 9,000 licenses a year. That obviously takes quite a bit of work. And you have how many staff people that are

Speaker 02:

handling this? I have four.

Speaker 00:

You have four. I have

Speaker 02:

four.

Speaker 00:

And so with that number, is there a recommended time frame that people should get their application in so that we have ample time to review that.

Speaker 02:

Sure. We like to see that they apply as soon as they know they're going to have their event and they've had their meeting and they've figured out the dates and the times. We like to see that they apply immediately. We don't like to see applications come in two days before an event because that does not give our staff ample time to review the application to make sure that everything is in the correct form, make sure that we have fees, diagrams, signatures, make sure that we understand what type of event they're having, that type of thing. So it gives our staff more time to process them. 10 days is the cutoff per our code and rules. However, we do get once.

Speaker 00:

But 10 days is not the maximum time. If you know in January that you're having an event in July and you have everything ready for that, applying in January is much better. Absolutely.

Speaker 01:

I think it's also important to note for anyone listening that we'll be applying for license The commission only meets two days a week. Generally, there are instances where meeting times have to change meeting dates have to change. If for some reason we don't have a quorum on a particular day, we may have to cancel a meeting that could impact the ability for us to issue licenses. Now that occasion is very rare. However, the timing of when your application comes in versus when we have meetings scheduled is very important for you to consider as well. We don't meet every day of the week. There's Tuesdays and Thursdays right now. So you need to consider that. need to keep that in mind as you're submitting applications too.

Speaker 00:

You mentioned something just a moment ago. You said we check to make sure that we have all the correct signatures. And it's not just one signature, correct? There might be multiple things that need to be signed. And can you elaborate on some of the different things that may need to be signed off on?

Speaker 02:

So the first set of signatures is president and secretary on the application, president and secretary of the organization. Those are to be notarized as well. Sometimes they come in and they're not notarized or we've got some conflicting data. When the notary signed or when the secretary or president signed. Also, the other signatures that we get are police. So as I mentioned before, please sign off the local police department for which the entity belongs. the event is being held. Also in that, our resolution page, there is a sign off from the organization's president. Typically, the resolution page is a meeting that they've had where they have come together and this is what they've decided on to have these particular fundraisers or events and the dates and they vote on that and they sign off on that.

Speaker 00:

Now, what if there is a church or a school within 500 feet of this location?

Speaker 02:

That is On a signature page with the police, there is a spot where it does ask if they are located within 500 feet of a church or school. That church or school does need to sign off on that, saying that they are okay with this particular entity having their event on this date. Yes, there is a sign off for that.

Speaker 00:

What happens if an organization wants to get a special license and they want to have their event in a social district in a downtown that has one established? Is there something special that they have to do with that?

Speaker 02:

They do. They actually would need to get sign off from the city township or village that holds that social district area. They need to have sign off Saying that the city acknowledges that they're having an event. It's on this day, this time, and for this such and such area. And that the social district, the commons area, will be null and void at that point in time because the special license will be using that space.

Speaker 00:

And if I were to buy a drink at the special license event, I wouldn't be able to remove it and go into the commons area with it. And vice versa. No one can bring something in from the commons area. That's good to know. Because we probably have quite a few local units of government that have these big events and people want to have a special license there and how to handle that. And if there's ever any questions on that, please reach out to the Liquor Control Commission and sort that out. We're more than happy to work with local government units to make their summer events successful and especially successful with the safe sale and service of alcohol. That's the one thing that we want to make I do want to

Speaker 01:

circle back to one more question before we move on to our next round of questions for you. If I'm a new special licensee that wants to come in, and I've never done any type of an event before, and I want to have someone help me out, whether it's a company that specializes in a events or promotions. Am I allowed to do that?

Speaker 02:

Yes, you can. The special licensee needs to understand that everything is to be done by the special licensee as far as purchasing the alcohol, pouring the alcohol. They can hire someone to pour the alcohol. Their books and records would reflect that as far as at the end and show that they hired someone to pour. And then they have to show that they profited from the event. Everything money-wise has to flow into their account. And then from there, they can pay who they have hired to assist them in their event.

Speaker 01:

You also brought up something really good there too. Where can they buy their alcohol?

Speaker 02:

Typically, if it's a larger event that happens, they'll go through one of our distributors. If it's a smaller event or middle of the road event, they can go to a party store, they can purchase a certain amount of kegs at the party store, canned seltzers or canned drinks that can be sold at their event. They don't have to go right directly to the distributor. They can purchase from someone locally that's just right down their street.

Speaker 01:

But what if I'm holding a local event and say I have a microbrewer up the road and I would like to feature some of their products? Are they allowed to be there at the event? Are they allowed to pour? What is their role that they can have there if I want to feature them?

Speaker 02:

So the microbrewer, which if they are able to self-distribute from their location the special licensee can purchase from them directly if not they'll have to go through one of our distributors to purchase as far as the microbrewer being there at the event they can be there at the event but they can be there just to talk about their product and maybe the process of their product and what goes into making it they cannot pour they cannot donate any of the alcohol all the alcohol has to be purchased from the funds of the special licensee they cannot take any type of donations of alcohol from any of our licensees.

Speaker 01:

That's very good to know. I'm glad that you brought that up.

Speaker 00:

And just so that people are aware, there is also another type of special license called a beer festival special license that's actually created for brewers, micro brewers, brew pubs, so that they can have those folks all come together

Speaker 02:

and

Speaker 00:

to focus on all of their products. And that is a slightly different process. And that could be an episode all of its own, probably talking about that we won't really delve in that today because there's only a handful of those that are issued each year but there is actually something out there for specifically for brewers there's also for distillers which is another license that's only once or twice issued a year much different process so there is a way for manufacturers in those fields to have their own special events but those are pretty rare compared to the 9,000 almost that we have with the non-profit organizations. And I was also going to, when we were talking about distribution of alcohol where you can buy, that is one thing to take into consideration when an organization is purchasing from a retailer for their event. And at the end of the event, they have leftover product. They can't return that. If they purchase that through a wholesaler, one of our distributors, licensed distributors, depending on the terms of that agreement, they may be able to return some of that. So if you have some unused kegs, they might be able to return some of that, where you're not going to be able to do that to your local grocery store. So that's something to take into consideration.

Speaker 01:

Okay, I think we've covered a lot of the basic overviews of what a special license is and who can apply. I'd like to go and dig a little bit deeper now and talk to you about what the common pitfalls are with the application Because this is a pretty large application compared to some of the other licensing forms that we have. So can you kind of go over that a little bit and, you know, maybe identify some of the key areas that people generally miss when they're filling out these applications?

Speaker 02:

Yes, there's signatures that are missed. We've got dates of signatures that are missed. Diagrams aren't sent in or the diagram is too dark or the measurements don't match up to what's on the application. versus what they wrote on the diagram page itself. Fees is a big one. We do process our fees via credit card at a separate office that is not the MLCC office. It's our revenue services office. And that office does process payments for multiple other departments and divisions of the state. So sometimes there's a little lag there for fees. Sometimes the resolution doesn't match up. The addresses don't match up for where the event's taking place. There's quite a few... We get very detailed into what we're looking at and what needs to match up and what needs to be correct.

Speaker 00:

And I think how I've explained it to people in the past when they ask why we need so much information for a one-day event is that you have to remember we are not going out and investigating that like we would for a bar or a restaurant or a grocery store where we get a bunch of information and we send somebody out and investigate before you ever get the license. In this case, we are trusting that everything that you're giving us is accurate and that that means we need a few extra things that we would get in an interview or an investigation that we wouldn't get with a special license. And that's why there is a little bit extra that you have to give us up front. And the law actually tells us we have to get certain of these things. And so we're following what the legislature has put into place over the years so that we are following what we need for those applications to make sure that everything is ready to go for these special licensees.

Speaker 01:

This has all been really good information. And I think the biggest takeaway that we can take from this process is that you have to be an entity that is registered in the state of Michigan. You have to be in good standing. You must qualify for this type of license. All this information is available on the website and on the application form itself on who qualifies and who does not. We also encourage you to apply as soon as possible. Make sure that you have your appropriate sign-offs, that your organizations are all aware and you are all on the same page for the event that you're holding? I think

Speaker 02:

that covers it.

Speaker 00:

I think that covers it for specials. For specials. Yeah. So now let's move on to temporary authorizations. And you mentioned earlier that these are for on-premises licensees. Now an on-premises licensee is not just a retailer like a bar or a restaurant. It can be some other things. So who all qualifies for a temporary authorization?

Speaker 02:

Sure. So temporary authorization permission is granted by the commission for on-premise licensees to serve in an area adjacent to the licensed building for the sales service and consumption of alcoholic beverages. On-premise would be on-premise consumption. So your bars, your restaurants, your micro brewers, your wineries, your distilleries, those are all on-premise licensees that hold the license to be able to consume on-premise and they are eligible to apply for temporary authorization.

Speaker 00:

And you mentioned being able to sell adjacent to the premises. So this is like an outdoor service area.

Speaker 02:

Typically, about 95% of our temporary authorizations are outdoor service areas. We do have some that request for temporary entertainment or temporary dance, if that is a permit that they do not already hold. But most of our licensees, it is for outdoor service.

Speaker 00:

And so if I already have an outdoor service area and I'm applying for a temporary outdoor service area, that's something that's in addition to what I already have. Correct. What does it cost for a temporary authorization?

Speaker 02:

$70. And

Speaker 00:

it's

Speaker 02:

$70 per application. Typically, we have quite a few of our licensees know in advance because they hold certain events at certain times of the year, every year. So if they've got five or six event dates, those can be all put on one application and one fee of $70 can be paid.

Speaker 01:

And I think it's important to note that this is a temporary authorization. So it's an extension of what they are already licensed under. So that's the difference between this and a special license, which is a 24-hour license.

Speaker 00:

Well, and you mentioned that it was $70 per application and you can have multiple requests on one application. Yes. How many temporary authorizations can you get a year?

Speaker 02:

12. 12.

Speaker 00:

Oh, very similar to the special licenses.

Speaker 02:

Yes, it is. So the cap on this is 12 dates per calendar year.

Speaker 00:

And are the 12 dates per calendar year similar to like the specialized Correct.

Speaker 01:

How far in advance should they apply for these?

Speaker 02:

They can apply at least a year in advance. I wouldn't say that they would need to apply anything outside of that. Typically, we get these a few months in advance and that's enough processing time for staff to process

Speaker 01:

these. If I have been issued a conditional license, am I able to apply for a temporary outdoor service area or any type of temporary permission from the commission? Unfortunately, no. Unfortunately,

Speaker 02:

no. That is something that is not allowable underneath our conditional licensing code and rules. They are not allowed to apply for any type of permits or permissions outside of what the current license holder already held and was transferred to them under their conditional.

Speaker 01:

And what if I own a business in a social district and I want to expand my current area so it extends into a social district area? Or can I have it down the street within the commons area?

Speaker 02:

That would be something that would need to be discussed with the city to allow for that. And if the city does give permission to do so, then yes, they could. It would only be their area. It would take over the commons area and it would only become their area. And that would be it for that timeframe and that day. So no one else would be able to use that portion of the commons area space because that licensee requested it. and is using it for their event, they would have to have a barrier put up to contain everybody in that one space.

Speaker 01:

So it's essentially similar to what the special license is. It's an event where people can go in, they can still purchase their social district cup and leave into the common area, but no outside alcohol may be brought onto that license premises because that's essentially what the outdoor service area is. is an extension of that license premise for that.

Speaker 00:

Correct. You mentioned that you can only have 12 of these a year. What happens if I have a situation where I want to have an outdoor service area for a couple months in the summertime? Am I able to get a temp for that, or is there something else that I need to do?

Speaker 02:

So you would apply for a permanent outdoor service area. If you only use it for those two months out of the year, then that's what you use it for. You're issued it permanently. So the next year, when you go to put it up, you would need to put that space up just as it was issued the year before, you know, to the dimensions, to the barriers that are to be used in that space.

Speaker 00:

And we talked about with the special licenses that It's a longer application because we don't go out and do investigations. Is there an investigation for a temporary outdoor service?

Speaker 02:

There is not an investigation that is done, no.

Speaker 00:

Okay. And so it's a more abbreviated process. Correct. Are there similar situations where you need to have police sign off for a temporary outdoor service?

Speaker 02:

Yes, you do. Police sign off and also an authorized signer on behalf of the licensees to sign off on the application as well.

Speaker 00:

And are there any special documents or anything that you need to provide along with the application?

Speaker 02:

Well, if you're using a space for which is not owned by you, the licensee, we would ask for that permission. So if you're having it, say, in a city parking lot or the city's closing the street down for you because you're going to use that space, we need something from the city that gives you permission on this day for this time to use that space for the sale and consumption Diagrams are to be provided, absolutely. That is something that we'd need. They could be very simple sometimes, and sometimes they're very detailed, and maybe it might be a blueprint of some sort. But typically, they're a quick sketch of where the licensed premises is and where the outdoor service area space is in conjunction to that and how big it is and what they want to use.

Speaker 01:

What would the commission be concerned with as far as if someone's requesting a very large area? What types of things would the commission want to look at for that. The barrier,

Speaker 02:

the entrances, the exits, definitely security plan as far as identification and how they're going to monitor that, how they're going to monitor if anybody's over-served or anything like that. Kind of all the stuff that you would follow in TIPS training, which the staff should be trained in that, as these are permanent licensees that are having these events.

Speaker 01:

In addition to these large outdoor service areas, I know sometimes you have app come in for areas that people want to use that are maybe a little bit of a distance away from their license premises. Can you talk about that a little bit and how we handle that?

Speaker 02:

Typically, if you are so many miles down the road and requesting for a temporary outdoor service area down the road from where your license establishment is at, that is not something that is allowable as you do not have control or exclusive control of the area in between. I will use an example of our wineries. Our wineries are very large properties and they do have some outdoor service areas. We do have space where it may be half a mile into their vineyard and there's a space that they want to use for a dinner or a picnic or something like that. Or maybe it's just a grape festival or something, but they want to use their space. That the commission has allowed because that space So the takeaway

Speaker 01:

here is, do you have control over that area? Correct. that you may need temporarily. Can you elaborate on that a little bit?

Speaker 02:

So if they're having, say, I'll use, say, a fishing tournament and there's going to be a prize awarded. So if that prize exceeds $250, there is an additional form that has to be filled out and approved by the commission with our enforcement division on that. So if you're awarding prizes over $250, that additional form needs to be completed and sent in to us and will need to be approved by the commission.

Speaker 00:

So what if I have a Class C license and I do want to have something that's a slight distance away from my license premises and it is something that I'm going to control the intervening where you said that that was allowed. Do I need anything additional so that I can sell and serve alcohol out in that temporary outdoor service area?

Speaker 02:

We would ask, staff would ask, say you've got an area that you've requested and it's a hundred feet from your license premise. But it's kind of a jog for your wait staff to be going back and forth with drinks. You want to have an additional bar out there and that bar will service that temporary area for that time period. If you do not have an additional bar permit that is already included with your license, you would need to request one to be able to use the additional bar permit in that temporary area. And with that, it will give you that additional bar permit for the rest of the remaining year

Speaker 00:

And what does an additional bar permit cost?

Speaker 02:

$350 and also the investigation fee, which is $70. So $420. Is that

Speaker 00:

included in the application or do you have to fill it? It is

Speaker 02:

not. There would be a separate application request made for that if that was deemed to be needed and that would be paid separately.

Speaker 00:

And we do have an additional, a separate additional bar permit application on our website just for that. Yes.

Speaker 01:

But if they don't intend to set up a portable bar out there, they could allow for their wait staff to make that delivery back and forth between the establishment or the establishment in the temporary area

Speaker 02:

they also can have what we call a service bar and that service bar would only be for wait staff so me as a paying customer would not be able to go to that bar and purchase from that bar as there would be no point of sale at that bar location because it would just be for wait staff to gather their drinks and to deliver to the tables in the temporary area

Speaker 00:

okay that's good to know well thank you Brittany for joining us today and and giving us a whole bunch of good information on special licenses and temporary authorizations. And as always, if anyone has any questions for the MLCC on anything that we talk about here on the MLCC On The Road podcast, feel free to reach out to us. We have a variety of information on special licenses and temporary authorizations on our website. And our staff is always willing to help people walk through what they need so that they can submit an application and get it approved in good time for their event. And I think the biggest takeaway from this whole conversation, at least for me and I hope for our listeners, is that if you have an event that's coming up and you know in advance that it's six months down the road, a year down the road, It is very important to get that application in to us sooner than later so that we have ample time to review it and that we have ample time to get your special license or your temporary authorization issued so that you can have a safe and successful special event that you're doing. And that is very important to us. We have almost 9,000 special licenses we do each year and we have successful events throughout the whole state with these events. And that is very important that we want to make sure that our customers, And with that, I think we have wrapped up another edition of the MLCC On The Road Thank you, Sara. And thank you, Brittany. Thank

Speaker 02:

you for having me.

Speaker 00:

Yes. Thank you for joining us. And we will talk to you again soon. The MLCC On The Road podcast is brought to you by the Michigan Liquor Control Commission. For more information on the Michigan Liquor Control Commission, please visit our website at www.michigan.gov. Thank you for listening.

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