Senate Bill No. 339
(By Senator Unger)
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[Introduced January 29, 2007; referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated §60-7-4b; and to
amend and reenact §60-7-5 of said code, all relating to
requiring a public hearing prior to the issuance of an initial
license for a private club or upon the transfer of a license
to a private club at a new location.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new section, designated §60-7-4b; and that
§60-7-5 of said code be amended and reenacted, all to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 7. LICENSES TO PRIVATE CLUBS.
§60-7-4b. Public hearing prior to issuance of new license or upon
transfer of license to new location.
Prior to the issuance of an initial license to open and operate a private club, or prior to the transfer of a license to
operate a private club in a new location, the commissioner shall
hold a public hearing in the county where the private club is to be
located to solicit public comment on the impact of licensing a
private club in that location. The commissioner shall provide at
least thirty days' notice before holding the public hearing by
placing a Class II legal advertisement, to be paid by the
prospective licensee, in two or more newspapers serving the area in
which the private club is to be located, and the commissioner shall
further place conspicuous notice on the building where the private
club is to be located, if it is in existence at that time. The
commissioner shall allow written comments from the public to be
submitted during the notice period. License renewals to operate a
private club at an existing location are exempt from the provisions
of this section.
§60-7-5. Investigation by commissioner; issuance or refusal of
license; special requirements for clubs at parks and
airports; form of license; license valid at one
location only; expiration and renewal;
transferability.
(a) Upon receipt of the application referred to in section
four of this article, together with the accompanying fee and bond,
the commissioner shall conduct an investigation to determine the
accuracy of the matters contained in such application and whether applicant is a bona fide private club of good reputation in the
community in which it shall operate. For the purpose of conducting
such the investigation, the commissioner may withhold the granting
or refusal to grant
such the license for a period not to exceed
thirty one hundred twenty days. If it
shall appears that
such the
applicant is a bona fide private club, of good reputation in the
community in which it shall operate and that there is no false
statement contained in
such the application, the commissioner shall
issue a license authorizing the applicant to sell alcoholic liquors
as provided in section three of this article, and otherwise shall
refuse to issue
such the license, except that in the case of an
application by a corporation or association to operate a private
club in connection with:
(1) A state park, the Director of the Division of Natural
Resources must grant his or her approval before the license can be
issued; or
(2) A county or municipal park, or an airport, the authority
governing the park or airport must grant its approval before the
license can be issued.
A license may not be issued for a private club in any state
park unless a dining facility comparable to the dining facility for
the proposed private club will be available to serve meals to the
general public. A license may not be issued for a private club in
any county or municipal park, or an airport, unless a dining facility comparable to the dining facility for the proposed private
club will be available to serve meals to the general public.
(b) Upon refusal to issue
such the license the commissioner
shall make and enter an order denying
such the application, which
denial and refusal
shall be is final unless a hearing is requested
in accordance with the provisions of section thirteen of this
article. When
such refusal or denial becomes final the
commissioner shall forthwith refund to the applicant his or her
fees and bond accompanying the application.
(c)
Such The license shall be of such form and design as the
commissioner may prescribe by reasonable rule
or regulation, and
shall authorize the licensee to sell alcoholic liquors at only one
location.
(d)
Such The license shall expire on the thirtieth day of June
next following the date of issue and may be renewed upon the same
showing as required for the issuance of the initial license,
together with the payment of fees and filing of the bond as
required by this article.
(e) A license issued under the provisions of this article
may
not be is not transferable.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require the Alcohol
Beverage Control Commissioner to hold a public hearing prior to
issuing a first-time license for private club or upon the transfer
of a license to a private club at a new location. The public
hearing will be held in the county where the club is to be located.
§60-7-4b is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring
have been omitted.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.