Legislative Bottleneck: Delay In License Bill Forces Pate’s To Close

CHATHAM – The path for home-rule legislation is rarely smooth, even when measures are overwhelmingly endorsed by town meetings. State legislators zealously guard their law-making ability, and while they may not stand directly in the way of legislation requested by local communities, they don’t necessarily make it easy, either.

Chatham currently has six home-rule bills pending before the state legislature. While most were filed within the past three years, one has been re-voted and re-filed numerous times since it was originally endorsed by town meeting in 2015.

Ironically, the most recent special legislation filed by the town, approved by town meeting last May, will likely be the first of the pending batch to be signed into law. And it’s a bill that has a direct impact on one prominent local business and its employees.

The legislation seeks an additional year-round all-alcoholic beverages license for Pate’s Restaurant at 1260 Main St. Currently, the restaurant has a seasonal license which, with an extension approved by the select board, allows it to remain open from April 1 to Jan. 15. Year-round on-premises restaurant, inn and club liquor licenses — also known as “pouring” licenses to distinguish them from package store licenses — are allocated by population, and all of Chatham’s 17 are currently spoken for.

Since voters endorse the filing of special legislation 228-62, the restaurant’s owners figured that it would be smooth sailing on Beacon Hill. But after a hearing before the joint committee on consumer protection and professional licensure in September, the committee redrafted the bill to convert one of the town’s seasonal all-alcohol pouring licenses to year-round instead of creating a new license. The bill was endorsed by the committee and sent to the House Committee on Steering, Policy and Scheduling, where it languished.

“It got stuck in the gears,” said Pate’s co-owner James Peterson. “All we’ve done is wait, wait and wait.”

Until last week, that is, when it was passed by the House on a third reading and sent along to the Senate. On Tuesday, Cape and Islands Senator Julian Cyr, D-Truro, said the bill was enacted by both the Senate and House on Tuesday. It was then sent on to Gov. Maura Healy for her signature. The governor has 10 days to sign the bill, but Cyr said he has requested that it be signed as soon as possible.

Because Pate’s current seasonal license required that it close Jan. 15, the restaurant had to lay off its staff, which Peterson said numbers 35 to 40 part- and full-time workers. Even after Healy signs the bill and it becomes law, however, the restaurant owners still have some hoops to jump through before they can reopen.

Pate’s must go through the process of applying for the new license, even though it is tied directly to the restaurant’s address. Once the select board awards the license to Pate’s — assuming it will — it must then be reviewed by the state department of revenue to ensure the business is up to date on its taxes; it also requires approval by the state Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission. That will all take time.

“We’re hopeful it can move along,” Peterson said. If all approvals are received, the restaurant will be prepared to open prior to April 1, he said. “The sooner we can get our people back to work, the better.” He acknowledged that the restaurant is not likely to make money during the 75 days between Jan. 15 and April 1, but it can at least keep its staff employed and serve its local year-round customers, he added.

Peterson thanked both Cyr and Rep. Sarah Peake, D-Provincetown, and their staffs for helping get the legislation through the process. “They’ve both been very helpful with this, and very timely” in keeping the owners informed, he said.

Other Home-rule Legislation

The local legislation pending the longest is House Bill 1932, which was approved by town meeting in 2015. The bill, which seeks to exempt the town from prevailing way laws for projects under $50,000, has been filed every two years since, and was most recently the subject of a hearing before the committee on labor and workforce development on Sept. 26.

Three home-rule petitions were filed in 2021 after being endorsed by town meeting.

House 2915 seeks to establish a one-half of 1 percent surcharge on real estate sales of $2 million or more, with the proceeds going toward affordable housing. The joint committee on revenue held a hearing on the bill on Oct. 11, but there has been no further action since. More recently Gov. Healy filed legislation that, if approved, would provide communities with the local option to adopt such a surcharge.

House 1365, also filed in 2021, seeks to expand the use of community preservation funds for attainable or workforce housing, not just affordable housing. House 1366 would establish a housing trust fund to expend money on attainable housing. Both bills have gone through third readings in the House and were engrossed, or passed on to the Senate.

Finally, in 2022, voters endorsed special legislation that would direct 1 percent of the local rooms tax to fund attainable housing and the Chatham Elementary School budget. The bill was engrossed by the House on Dec. 18 and sent to the Senate, where it had its first reading Dec. 21.

Once the bills are engrossed by the Senate, they are sent back to the House for final enactment.