TABC: Tax Receipts to Analyze Performance Of Restaurant

Introduction

Update TABC's mission to better reflect today's alcoholic beverage regulatory environment and the agency's role in public safety issues. TABC should continue refining its new performance measures and developing the capabilities necessary to effectively analyze this data. (Texas. Sunset Advisory Commission(C), 1)

Discussion

The Texas Constitution permits areas of the state to hold local option elections designating what types of alcohol, if any, can be sold and how it can be sold. A city, county, or justice of the peace precinct can vote to be completely dry or to allow alcohol to be sold under a variety of circumstances, ranging from only allowing beer and wine in restaurants to allowing package stores. (Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (B), 12)

Even in areas that are completely dry, an organization, such as a country club or fraternal organization, may apply for a private club license to serve alcohol to its members. TABC relies on localities to maintain the information on what areas are wet or dry. With 254 counties, nearly 850 precincts, and numerous cities, the lines between wet and dry areas can be difficult to track. Also, the boundaries of a locality can change, as with census shifts and incorporations, but the wet or dry status remains within the original voting boundaries, further complicating wet and dry tracking. Currently, approximately 89 percent of Texas counties are at least partially dry. (Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (A), 1)

The process for obtaining each type of license shares some similarities across tiers, such as criminal and financial background checks, and all licensees are subject to local ordinances and protests by the public. However, each tier has some application differences; for example, the types of bonds needed and licensing fees vary greatly. In addition, the process for obtaining a beer, wine, or liquor license varies as well. The complexity of obtaining a license, and the associated fees, generally increase with the percentage of alcohol in the beverage sold. Less than $400 will cover licensing fees to sell beer in a bar or restaurant, whereas the same location would have to pay an additional $3,000 to sell mixed drinks. (Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (B), 30)

The fees for licensure also tend to be higher for locations where customers consume alcohol on-premise. Bars produce heterogeneous goods and compete with each other in local markets. This compels us to consider imperfect competition as the most likely market structure for our sample of rms.

People will get tired of commuting to an area where they are allowed to smoke in restaurants and businesses. Smokers will also begin to miss the service and food at some of their favorite eateries. Smoking patrons may decide to stay away from restaurants for a short time, but soon will swallow their pride and come back. There is an undeniable possibility that a ban on smoking will not greatly affect the city's economy. That is the reason why the city council believes the importance of the issue of public health is more serious than ...