Senate Bill No. 229
(By Senator Blatnik)
____________
[Introduced February 1, 1994; referred to the Committee
on the Judiciary; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
____________
A BILL to amend and reenact section four, article sixteen,
chapter eleven of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended; to amend chapter sixty
of said code by adding thereto a new article, designated
article two-b; to amend and reenact section six, article
three-a of said chapter; and to amend and reenact section
ten, article seven of said chapter, all relating to
alcoholic beverages; providing that municipalities may
exercise certain alcohol beverage control enforcement powers
if the commissioner approves the training received by
municipal enforcement personnel; providing for the
elimination of the state monopoly on wholesale of alcoholic
beverages; divestiture of state responsibility for wholesale
of alcoholic beverages; providing for approval of
distributors of alcoholic beverages; responsibilities of the
tax commissioner; fee for approval; imposition of tax on
wholesale sales; and penalty for violations.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section four, article sixteen, chapter eleven of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted; that chapter sixty of said
code be amended by adding thereto a new article, designated
article two-b; that section six, article three-a of said chapter
be amended and reenacted; and section ten, article seven of said
chapter be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
CHAPTER 11. TAXATION.
ARTICLE 16. NONINTOXICATING BEER.
§11-16-4. Responsibility of alcohol beverage control
commissioner; administrators, employees and agents;
administration and enforcement expenses.
(a) The alcohol beverage control commissioner described
under the provisions of article two, chapter sixty of this code
shall have sole responsibility for the administration of this
article, except for those responsibilities expressly vested in
the tax commissioner under sections thirteen, fourteen and
fifteen of this article.
All acts heretofore performed by the nonintoxicating beer
commissioner under previous proceedings of this article are
hereby again ratified and confirmed, and the commissioner shall
succeed to the same position previously maintained by the
nonintoxicating beer commissioner in all proceedings and official
acts instituted and perfected under the provisions of this
article prior to the effective date of this section.
(b) The commissioner shall appoint an adequate number of
competent persons to serve as administrators, employees and
agents of the commissioner for the purpose of keeping all
necessary accounts and records required under the provisions of
this article; investigating the books, accounts, records and
other papers of retailers, distributors and brewers;
investigating applicants for license and the places of business
of retailers, distributors and brewers; procuring evidence with
respect to violations of the provisions of this article, and
particularly for use at hearings held by the commissioner and on
proceedings instituted in court for the purpose of revoking or
suspending licenses hereunder; and such administrators, employees
and agents shall perform such other duties as the commissioner
may direct. Such administrators, employees and agents shall have
the right to enter any licensed premises in the state in the
performance of their duties at any hour of the day or night when
beer is being sold or consumed on such licensed premises.
Refusal by any licensee or by any employee of a licensee to
permit such administrators, employees or agents to enter the
licensed premises shall be an additional cause for revocation or
suspension of the license of such licensee by the commissioner.
The compensation of such administrators, employees and agents
shall be fixed by the commissioner:
Provided, That the
commissioner may employ up to eleven special investigators who
shall be nonclassified exempt employees of the division.
At the request of any municipality agreeing to providetraining for enforcement personnel which meets the approval of
the commissioner, the commissioner shall authorize the
municipality to exercise the powers, responsibilities and duties
of enforcing the provisions of this article concurrently with the
staff and employees of his or her office.
(c) Services rendered the state by clerks, sheriffs,
commissioners in chancery and special commissioners, designated
by the court, and court reporters and stenographers performing
services for said commissioner and fees of witnesses summoned on
behalf of the state in proceedings to revoke or suspend
retailer's licenses shall be treated as part of the expenses of
administration and enforcement, and such officers and said other
persons shall be paid the same fees and charges as would be
chargeable for like services performed for an individual; and the
compensation of such clerks, sheriffs and other persons shall be
paid out of the amount allocated for the expense of
administration enforcement, after the amount of such fees and
other charges shall be certified by the court to the auditor.
CHAPTER 60. ALCOHOL BEVERAGE CONTROL.
ARTICLE 2B. SALES OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES TO LICENSEES.
§60-2B-1. State monopoly eliminated.
Effective the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred
ninety-four, the sale of alcoholic liquors at wholesale is no
longer a state monopoly.
§60-2B-2. Transition to private wholesalers.
The sale of alcoholic liquors at wholesale by the stateshall terminate on the first day of July, one thousand nine
hundred ninety-four. Effective on that date, the commissioner
shall divest, using the most economically feasible procedures to
ensure that divesting is beneficial to the state, all stock,
supplies, equipment, leases, buildings and real property used in
the wholesale of alcoholic beverages. Retail licensees may
purchase alcoholic beverages at wholesale from any vendor
approved by the tax commissioner for distribution of alcoholic
beverages in this state.
§60-2B-3. Approval of alcoholic beverage distributors; fees.
The tax commissioner shall approve all distributors of
alcoholic beverages to retail licensees in this state. Prior to
doing business, a distributor of alcoholic beverages shall apply
to the tax commissioner for approval. Each application for
approval shall be accompanied by an approval fee of ten thousand
dollars. This fee shall be collected annually from every
approved distributor of alcoholic beverages. If, after diligent
and thorough investigation of the applicants' background,
business practice and moral character, the tax commissioner is
satisfied that an applicant qualifies as an approved distributor,
the tax commissioner shall issue an approval letter and shall
authorize the applicant to distribute alcoholic beverages to
approved retailers in this state.
§60-2B-4. Tax on alcoholic beverages sold at wholesale.
Effective the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred
ninety-four, a tax on the sale of alcoholic beverages atwholesale, at the rate of six cents on each dollar of sales,
shall be charged and collected by the tax commissioner from every
approved alcoholic beverage distributor.
§60-2B-5. Penalty.
Any person violating the provisions of this article is
guilty of a felony, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined
not more than one thousand dollars, or imprisoned in the
penitentiary not less than one year, or both fined and
imprisoned.
ARTICLE 3A. SALES BY RETAIL LIQUOR LICENSEES.
§60-3A-6. General powers and duties of board and commissioner.
(a) The board shall create, based on economic and
demographic factors, market zones within the state for the
issuance of Class A and Class B retail licenses, and, if deemed
necessary or desirable by the board, to create one or more
designated areas within such market zones for the issuance of
Class B retail licenses.
(b) The commissioner shall:
(1) Prescribe application forms for persons desiring to
acquire retail licenses and adopt an orderly procedure and
timetable for investigating, processing and approving
applications;
(2) Develop a form of retail license to be issued to each
retail licensee under the provisions of this article;
(3) Disseminate to the public information relating to the
issuance of retail licenses;
(4) Promulgate standards for advertising the sale,
availability, price and selection of liquor;
(5) Enforce the provisions of this article:
Provided, That
at the request of any municipality, agreeing to provide training
for enforcement personnel which meets the approval of the
commissioner, the commissioner shall authorize the municipality
to exercise the powers, responsibilities and duties of enforcing
the provisions of this article concurrently with the staff and
employees of his or her office;
(6) Impose civil penalties upon retail licensees;
(7) Enter the retail outlet of any retail licensee at
reasonable times for the purpose of inspecting the same, and
determining the compliance of such retail licensee with the
provisions of this article and any rules promulgated by the board
or the commissioner pursuant to the provisions of this article;
and
(8) Issue subpoenas and subpoenas duces tecum for the
purpose of conducting hearings under the provisions of section
twenty-six or section twenty-eight of this article, which
subpoenas and subpoenas duces tecum shall be issued in the time,
for the fees, and shall be enforced in the manner specified in
section one, article five, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code
with like effect as if such section was set forth in extenso
herein.
(c) The board and the commissioner shall each:
(1) Engage accounting, legal and other necessaryprofessional consultants to assist them in carrying out their
respective duties under this article; and
(2) Adopt, amend, or repeal such procedural, interpretive
and legislative rules, consistent with the policy and objectives
of this article, as they may deem necessary or desirable for the
public interest in carrying out the provisions of this article.
Such rules shall be adopted, amended and repealed in accordance
with the provisions of chapter twenty-nine-a of this code.
ARTICLE 7. LICENSES TO PRIVATE CLUBS.
§60-7-10. Duties and powers of commissioner.
The commissioner is hereby authorized:
(a) To enforce the provisions of this article.
(b) To enter the premises of any licensee at reasonable
times for the purpose of inspecting the same, and determining the
compliance of said licensee with the provisions of this article
and any rules and regulations promulgated by the commissioner
pursuant to the provisions of this article.
(c) To promulgate such reasonable rules and regulations as
may be necessary for the execution and enforcement of the
provisions of this article, which may include, but shall not be
limited to, the hours during which licensees may sell alcoholic
liquors, and the use, handling, service and sale of such
alcoholic liquors. Such rules and regulations shall be
promulgated in accordance with the provisions of article three,
chapter twenty-nine-a of the code in like manner as if said
article three of said chapter twenty-nine-a were set forth inextenso in this subdivision.
(d) To issue subpoenas and subpoenas duces tecum for the
purposes of conducting hearings under the provisions of section
thirteen of this article, which subpoenas and subpoenas duces
tecum shall be issued in the time, for the fees, and shall be
enforced in the manner specified in section one, article five,
chapter twenty-nine-a of this code with like effect as if said
section one were set forth in extenso in this subdivision.
The authority granted in subdivisions (a), (b), and (d) of
this section may also be exercised by the duly authorized agents
of the commissioner.
At the request of any municipality,
agreeing to provide training for enforcement personnel which
meets the approval of the commissioner, the commissioner shall
authorize the municipality to exercise the powers,
responsibilities and duties of enforcing the provisions of
subdivisions (a), (b) and (d) of this section concurrently with
the staff and employees of his or her office.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to permit municipalities
to exercise enforcement responsibilities of the Alcohol Beverage
Control Commissioner if the commissioner approves the training
program provided by the municipality for its enforcement
personnel; to eliminate the state control of the wholesale of
alcoholic beverages; to require that by July 1, 1994, the Alcohol
Beverage Control Commissioner must divest the state of
warehouses, leases, supplies, equipment and real property used in
the wholesale of alcoholic beverages; to permit the tax
commissioner to approve distributors of alcoholic beverages in
this state; to place a tax in an amount of six cents on each
dollar of alcoholic beverages sold at wholesale; and to provide
a felony penalty for any violation of its provisions.
Article two-b, chapter sixty is a new article; 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.
Email
Webmaster | © 2024 West Virginia Legislature **
