in our Spotlight on Business Report State lawmakers are cracking open New Jersey's nearly century-old liquor license laws considering a number of bills today that will reform the system which currently caps the number of licenses issued to each Town based on population has enabled other licenses to be left dormant for years and Advocates say has stifled the ability of the industry to grow Melissa Rose Cooper reports from the State House at the end of the day we're looking to create vibrant destination you know live work play communities in the right areas of the state and so at the end of the day this is about where we're going to grow as a state Jeff kolikowski of the New Jersey Builders Association addressing legislation that would allow municipalities to transfer inactive liquor licenses for use and Redevelopment areas the measure is one of a number of bills aimed at reforming the State's liquor license laws being reviewed by the assembly oversight reform and federal Relations Committee my priority here was to do something about these licenses that weren't being used the fact that they exist in the market disrupts the market that the fact that they're they're they go for so many years um where this license to do business is being halted the issue has also become a priority of Governor Murphy announcing plans during his State of the State address to make liquor licenses more available right now towns are only allowed one license for every 3 000 residents as a mayor of a small community of 2 700 residents I have one liquor license in town and it's a historic liquor license if that business goes out I don't get to keep that license our communities and there are a number of them that are like mine having any sort of a population cap and I was the mayor who said I could have 15 cannabis licenses but one liquor license I don't know why we have this double standard in this state when it comes to these two sin products that again one we treat like it's almost nuclear waste and the other one that we're welcoming and realizing the economic growth potential that it has we are restricting growth in communities that are welcoming it these communities want to be destination downtowns they're welcoming this and we have this one little thing that is stopping us from being able to accommodate growth and the places that want it and where it makes most sense the high cost of getting a liquor license also of concern from members of the industry one or two additional licenses in a high demand Community will still sell at the prevailing price releasing a small number of licenses will provide no opportunity for those with limited means to get into the game when the price going price is a half a million to well over a million in these communities another bill up for discussion would allow food and beverage businesses inside shopping malls to sell alcoholic drinks which some say creates issues of Public Safety like an adult being able to pass off drinks to underage residents there's no way to adequately enforce pass-offs in an unrestricted unregulated areas such as a food court the same goes for over consumption there's really a very difficult to tell who is over consuming when they go to a food court and they can go to perhaps six or seven or eight different kiosks in that food court they get you know their first 16 ounce draft it's to borrow and then they get their next one at Annie's pretzels and then they get their next one at uh you know a Burger King the bill to allow towns to sell unused licenses did pass out of committee today advocates for reforms say while that's a great first step to improving access for businesses many want more new licenses but the bill to relax the population cap on liquor licenses was just up for discussion today with no vote schedules and faces an uncertain path forward for NJ Spotlight news I'm Melissa Rose Cooper