APPENDIX A

The Texas Regulatory Quick-Reference Card

Laminate It and Post It Behind the Bar

This card gathers, in one place, the regulatory basics a Texas honky tonk lives by — the license types, the hours, the big liabilities, the music and gaming and drink-special rules, and the numbers to call. It is a quick reference, not the law itself: the rules summarized here are simplified, they change, and they apply differently to different venues. Use it as a memory aid and a starting point, confirm the current specifics with the relevant agency, and consult a qualified Texas attorney for your situation. The fuller explanations live in the chapters noted, and the complete disclaimers in Appendix G.

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TABC License & Permit Types

Which permit you hold governs what you can sell, when, and how. (Chapter 28.)

Permits are location- and owner-specific and non-transferable; apply through TABC’s online AIMS system; post the public-notice sign; renew on schedule.

Hours of Sale

The Big Liabilities — Know These Cold

• Don’t serve minors (under 21). Among the most aggressively enforced violations; TABC runs stings. Penalties escalate to suspension or cancellation. Check IDs every time. (Ch. 28.)

• Don’t over-serve. Serving a visibly intoxicated person is a TABC violation and the trigger for dram-shop civil liability — potentially millions if an over-served patron harms someone. Train staff to cut people off. (Ch. 27/28.)

• Safe Harbor: if all sellers/servers are TABC-certified and you didn’t encourage the violation, your license may be shielded from administrative action even when an employee errs (weaker shield in civil dram-shop suits). Certify everyone. (Ch. 28.)

• Carry insurance: adequate general-liability and liquor-liability (dram-shop) coverage. Compliance lowers the odds; insurance survives the catastrophe. (Ch. 28.)

Drink Specials & Promotions — What’s Prohibited

Under TABC Rule 45.103 and related law (Chapter 17), you generally may not:

• Offer two-for-one or “all you can drink” pricing, or sell more than one drink at a time to one person.

• Offer volume discounts that encourage over-consumption, or run “ladies’ night” / gender-based pricing (a public-accommodation problem).

• Run a happy hour past 11:00 p.m. Promote any special you can’t legally run — and never advertise alcohol deceptively.

Music Licensing — The Four PROs

If live or recorded copyrighted music is performed, you owe public-performance licenses to the four performing-rights organizations: ASCAP, BMI, SESAC, and GMR. Karaoke also needs licensed tracks. Livestreaming your shows may require separate licenses. Willful infringement runs up to $150,000 per work. (Ch. 28; Appendix E.)

Games of Chance — Bingo, Raffles, Prize Games

Gambling = consideration + chance + prize. Remove any one and it’s generally legal. (Chapter 13.)

• Charitable bingo is legal only under the Bingo Enabling Act, licensed through the Texas Lottery Commission, and only for qualified organizations.

• Raffles (50/50, queen of hearts) are restricted to qualified nonprofits under the Charitable Raffle Enabling Act — a for-profit bar generally cannot run one.

• Free-to-play contests (no purchase or “consideration” required to enter) fall outside gambling — the usual safe path for a bar’s own prize games.

Key Numbers & Contacts

Fill in your local specifics, then post this card where the staff can see it.