42.12.414 HOW APPLICANT WILL BE CHOSEN

(1) Successful applicants will be chosen based upon rank (the order of being randomly drawn).

(2) The department will construct a list of the applicants in the order in which they were drawn in the lottery.

(a) For a restaurant beer and wine lottery applicant, the department personnel will determine within this ordering, which applicants have claimed a preference.

(b) A preference must be given to any applicant who:

(i) does not have a restaurant beer and wine license or a retail beer license in any quota area; and

(ii) operates a restaurant for at least 12 months immediately prior to filing of an application in that quota area. This preference will be verified at the time of license application.

(d) A preference will not supersede the limits within any quota area on licenses of restaurants with a seating capacity of 101 or more persons.

(e) A final ranking of applicants will then be made.

(f) The department will not issue to restaurants with a seating capacity greater than 101 more than 25% of the available restaurant beer and wine licenses in any given quota area. This may result in a quota area not being able to immediately award all of its available restaurant beer and wine licenses. This could also result in larger restaurants who have received a preference being unable to receive a restaurant beer and wine license for seating capacity greater than 101 if many larger restaurants apply to the initial lottery in a given area.

(g) A successful lottery applicant that requested to have a restaurant with seating capacity greater than 101 but the seating quota is full may elect to apply for a license with less seating capacity.

(3) A successful applicant cannot sell his ranking nor can the applicant transfer his ranking to another.

History: 16-1-303, MCA; IMP, 16-4-105, 16-4-201, 16-4-204, 16-4-420, 16-4-502, MCA; NEW, 1997 MAR p. 2097, Eff. 11/18/97; AMD, 1998 MAR p. 3132, Eff. 11/20/98; AMD, 2010 MAR p. 2225, Eff. 9/24/10.