Emergency Bill would Give CVP Owners More Time to Rebuild

The owners of a popular Towson bar could get more time to rebuild under an emergency bill filed Thursday in the Senate.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Kathy Klausmeier, allows the Baltimore County Board of Liquor License Commissioners to grant a two-year extension to license holders who lose their business as the result of a fire or other property damage.

The bill also allows the Circuit Court to grant further extensions under extraordinary circumstances.

Klausmeier, a Perry Hall Democrat who is chairwoman of the county Senate delegation, said the bill is meant to provide extra time for the owners of the Charles Village Pub in Towson to rebuild.

"We're just trying to give the owners a little bit of insurance," Klausmeier said.

The Pennsylvania Avenue bar was . The owners plan to rebuild, but a scheduled March 14 because of a fire risk posed by a connected gas line still connected on the property.

Under current law, license holders lose their license if it has been inactive for a year.

The bill faces additional hurdles before it can get a hearing and be voted on by the House. Because it was filed late it will first be sent to the Senate Rules Committee for a procedural vote before it can be sent for a hearing, likely in the Senate Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee.

"This late in the session it's hard to get bills through," said Klausmeier, who coincidentally is chairwoman of the Senate Rules Committee.

An additional hurdle to passage comes on Monday when the session enters its 78th day—called cross-over day—when all bills must move to the opposition chamber for consideration. A delay in the Senate could land Klausmeier's bill in the House Rules Committee and delay a vote in a standing committe in that chamber.

The bill would have to be approved by both the Senate and the House before midnight on April 11.