Senate Bill No. 118
(By Senators Unger, Snyder and Anderson)
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[Introduced January 10, 2002; referred to the Committee
on the Judiciary; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend article seven, chapter sixty of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended,
by adding thereto a new section, designated section four-b;
and to amend and reenact section five of said article, 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 article seven, chapter sixty of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section
four-b; and that section five of said article 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 appear 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 department 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 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.