Senate Bill No. 522
(By Senator Bailey)
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[Introduced February 20, 1995; referred to the Committee
on Government Organization; and then to the Committee on
Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact sections five and six, article
three-a, chapter sixty of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to
state control of alcoholic liquors; sales by retail liquor
licensees; retail liquor licensing board; and general powers
and duties of the board and commissioner.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections five and six, article three-a, chapter sixty
of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred
thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 3A. SALES BY RETAIL LIQUOR LICENSEES.
§60-3A-5. Creation of retail liquor licensing board; members,
terms, meetings and officers; general provisions.
(a) There is hereby created the state retail liquor
licensing board which shall be composed of
five eight members,
three five of whom shall be appointed by the governor by and with
the advice and consent of the senate, one of whom shall be the
secretary of tax and revenue,
and one of whom shall be the
commissioner,
one of whom shall be a representative of a retail
license with a Class A retail license that operates stores in
more than five locations in this state, one of whom shall be a
representative of a retail license with a Class A retail license
that operates stores in less than five locations in this state
and one of whom shall be a representative of a retail license
with a Class B retail license: Provided, That the
representatives of retail licensees shall be known and designated
as "associate members" of the board, whose duties are to
investigate, advise and recommend the board on the bidding
process revisions, but are hereby prohibited from participating
in the issuance of retail licenses or other matters of obvious
conflict or self-interest. The secretary of tax and revenue and
the commissioner shall serve as the chairman and secretary,
respectively, of the board. No more than
two three of the
three five members appointed by the governor shall be of the same
political party.
No member of the board may hold a retail
license or have any financial interest, directly or indirectly,
in any retail licensee.
(b) The provisions of this subsection apply to the
three
five members appointed by the governor. They shall be appointed
for overlapping terms of three years each and until their
respective successors have been appointed and have qualified,
except for the original appointments. For the purpose of
original appointments, one member shall be appointed for a term
of three years and until his or her successor has been appointed
and has qualified,
one member two members shall be appointed for
a term of two years and until his or her successor has been
appointed and has qualified, and
one member two members shall be
appointed for a term of one year and until his or her successor
has been appointed and has qualified. Members may be reappointed
for any number of terms. Before entering upon the performance of
his or her duties, each member shall take and subscribe to the
oath required by Section 5, Article IV of the Constitution of
this state. Vacancies shall be filled by appointment by the
governor for the unexpired term of the member whose office shall be vacant and such appointment shall be made within sixty days of
the occurrence of such vacancy. Any member may be removed by the
governor in case of incompetency, neglect of duty, gross
immorality or malfeasance in office. Members shall receive
compensation of one hundred dollars per day for each day actually
engaged in the performance of their duties as board members, and
in addition shall be reimbursed for all reasonable and necessary
expenses actually incurred in the performance of their duties.
(c) A majority of the members of the board constitutes a
quorum and meetings shall be held at the call of the chairman.
(d) Staff, office facilities and costs of operation of the
board shall be provided by the commissioner.
§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:
Provided, That retail licensees are
limited to twenty retail outlets in this state.
(b) The board shall review market zones and hours of operation of licensees, the concept of first refusal for present
or current license holders and the desirability and practicality
of issuing permanent licenses.
(c) The board shall establish procedures for conducting
hearings and receiving public comments on the retail licensing
process provided for in this article.
(d) The board shall review the bidding process provided for
in this article, and annually, make recommendations to the
Legislature and governor relating to any changes in procedure or
this article that it believes should be made and submit proposed
legislation or rule changes to effect these changes.
(b) (e) 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;
(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) (f) The board and the commissioner shall each:
(1) Engage accounting, legal and other necessary
professional 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.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to change the composition
of the State Retail Liquor Licensing Board by appointing three
additional members who are to serve as associate members; and to
add to the responsibilities of the Board relating to its
procedural authority and its review of existing procedures.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.
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