51% location

[txbirddog]

Was down in Gruene last weekend and wanted to have lunch. Don't remember the name of the restruant. It was on a corner of the major intersection, across the street from the bar where George Strait played a lot. Any way, walk in and there is a bar with several tables. As I walk by the bar, I check for the sign. NONE. Sit down, enjoy my lunch and walk out. There IT IS. On the wall and you would never see it, until you are LEAVING.

I think this is wrong. Should I have to look over an entire establishment to try find the sign where almost every other sign has been....above the bar???

[cbr600]

Thank goodness we were able to get the signage requirement passed before they got all chubtastic.

[jordanmills]

Yeah but is there any requirement on the posting of a 51% sign? They can have it pretty much anywhere that's visible to the public. I've been in a "bar and grill" that is definitely not 51% (chili's, for example) and a wing joint that's actually a 51% bar (Texas Wings in Pearland, at least a couple of years ago when I went to the old location). In the latter case, IIRC, the 51% sign was posted behind the bar, about thirty feet into a dark smoky room, and was hard enough to see when you were standing at the bar.

[Keith B]

Yeah but is there any requirement on the posting of a 51% sign? They can have it pretty much anywhere that's visible to the public. I've been in a "bar and grill" that is definitely not 51% (chili's, for example) and a wing joint that's actually a 51% bar (Texas Wings in Pearland, at least a couple of years ago when I went to the old location). In the latter case, IIRC, the 51% sign was posted behind the bar, about thirty feet into a dark smoky room, and was hard enough to see when you were standing at the bar.

And, just posting a 51% sign does not make the establishment off-limits. Only if they are truly licensed as a 51% establishment are they no a no-go location. If they are truly a 51% location, even the absence of the sign does not make it legal to enter. However during the last legislative session they made the absence of a sign a defense to prosecution if you are caught.

[hirundo82]

Yeah but is there any requirement on the posting of a 51% sign? They can have it pretty much anywhere that's visible to the public. I've been in a "bar and grill" that is definitely not 51% (chili's, for example) and a wing joint that's actually a 51% bar (Texas Wings in Pearland, at least a couple of years ago when I went to the old location). In the latter case, IIRC, the 51% sign was posted behind the bar, about thirty feet into a dark smoky room, and was hard enough to see when you were standing at the bar.

The sign is required to be posted in a "conspicuous manner" at each entrance (Government Code §411.204)

(a) A business that has a permit or license issued under Chapter 25, 28, 32, 69, or 74, Alcoholic Beverage Code, and that derives 51 percent or more of its income from the sale of alcoholic beverages for on-premises consumption as determined by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission under Section 104.06, Alcoholic Beverage Code, shall prominently display at each entrance to the business premises a sign that complies with the requirements of Subsection (c).

(c) The sign required under Subsections (a) and (b) must give notice in both English and Spanish that it is unlawful for a person licensed under this subchapter to carry a handgun on the premises. The sign must appear in contrasting colors with block letters at least one inch in height and must include on its face the number "51" printed in solid red at least five inches in height. The sign shall be displayed in a conspicuous manner clearly visible to the public.

As of the last legislative session, it is a defense to prosecution under PC §46.03 that a CHL holder was not given proper notice (HB 2664). The new version is not on the Penal Code website yet, but it went into effect 9/1/09.

SECTION 1. Section 46.035, Penal Code, is amended by adding Subsection (k) to read as follows:
(k) It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection (b)(1) that the actor was not given effective notice under Section 411.204, Government Code.