Liquor Control Commission

The basic function of the Commission is to control, supervise, and regulate the manufacture, importation, and sale of liquor within the county. The Commission:

• Adopts rules regulations having the force and effect of law.
• Grants, refuses, suspends and revokes any license for the manufacture, importation, and sale of liquors.
• Investigates violations of liquor control laws through its investigators, hears, and determines all complaints and citations regarding violations of liquor control laws and imposes such fines or penalties as may be provided by law upon conviction thereof.

To carry out its duties, the Commission meets on the first and third Thursdays of each month.

Duties of The Commission

The department provides the administrative services for the commission.  It investigates all applications for liquor licenses and complies all the facts and statistics on all the matters before the commission.

The department has police powers to enforce the liquor laws.  It inspects all liquor licensed premises to insure compliance with the liquor laws and the commission’s rules and regulations.  It investigates all alleged violations and complaints of alleged violations and reports all violations to the commission.

ADMINISTRATION BRANCH
Program Description: The administrative branch consists of the director, commission/department secretary and senior clerk.  This branch provides services to the regulatory and enforcement branches, the liquor commission, as well as licensees and the general public.

ENFORCEMENT BRANCH
Program Description: The enforcement branch is comprised of a senior investigator who serves as the immediate supervisor, and field investigators who are responsible for conducting daily inspections and investigations on possible liquor law violations.  They also assist the licenses to interpret and understand the liquor laws that regulate their particular operation.

Training sessions and workshops for servers of alcoholic beverages will be offered to all licensees.  Public information sessions and presentations will be made available to the general public.

Inspectors of liquor licensed premises are conducted daily by the liquor control investigators.  Inspections are conducted to insure compliance with the laws and to assist licensees in preventing violations from occurring.

REGULATORY BRANCH
Program Description: The regulatory branch is primarily responsible for the licensing process, which involves applications for the fourteen classes of liquor licenses and collecting all mandatory information as required by State law and the liquor commission rules.  The regulatory branch investigates all license applications before they are submitted to the commission for disposition.  The regulatory branch, in coordination with the enforcement branch, also processes citations for hearing before the commission.

Mission Statement:
To protect the health, safety and welfare of the residents of Kauai Country by effectively and fairly enforcing Federal and State laws and County liquor rules as they apply to the manufacture, sale and distribution of alcoholic beverages.

Program Description:
The Department of Liquor Control, as authorized by State statute, is responsible for enforcement of Section 281 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes and the rules of the liquor commission.  The department also serves as the staff for the five-member commission that has the sole jurisdiction to approve or renew liquor applications, and also suspend or revoke a license once it had been issued.  Currently, the commission meets twice monthly and performs both regulatory and adjudication functions.

The liquor department is divided into three distinctive branches with specific functions and responsibilities, all working toward the same mission.

Department Goals:
The goals of the Department of Liquor Control are:

• To meet the public’s expectations by monitoring the manufacture, distribution, and sale of alcoholic beverages in the County of Kaua'i.
• To provide the highest level of service to the licensees in the County of Kaua'i and assist them in conduction a lawful and profitable business.

Rules & Regulations of the Liquor Control Commission