Senate Bill No. 155
(By Senators Barnes, Yoder, Wells and Sypolt)
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[Introduced January 19, 2007; referred to the Committee on
Government Organization; 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 §7-1-3oo, relating to
authorizing county commissions to levy a tax on alcoholic
beverages sold for on-site consumption; limitations on tax;
creation of special fund; and restricting use of funds for
regional jail costs, fire and rescue services and
law-enforcement activities only.
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 §7-1-3oo, to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 1. COUNTY COMMISSIONS GENERALLY.
§7-1-3oo. Authority to enact ordinance establishing tax on certain
alcoholic beverages; creation of special account; and
restricting use of funds for limited purposes.
(a) In addition to all other powers and duties now conferred
by law upon county commissions and notwithstanding any other provisions of this code to the contrary, county commissions are
authorized to establish and collect, by proper order, a tax on the
sale of alcoholic beverages consumed on the premises of private
clubs located within its geographical jurisdiction, not to exceed
thirty-five percent of the cost of the consumed beverage.
(b) Each county commission is further authorized and empowered
to create and establish, by proper order, a special account in
accordance with section nine, article one of this chapter, for the
deposit of funds received from the tax specified in this section.
(c) Expenditures from the special fund created pursuant to
this section shall be made exclusively for the purposes of
satisfying the county's costs associated with its obligations to
regional jails, fire and rescue services and law-enforcement
services.
(d) The funds received and held in a special account created
under this section shall not be considered as revenue in
determining the amount of real and personal property taxes to be
levied for the regular fiscal budget of such county under the
provisions of article eight, chapter eleven of this code.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to authorize county
commissions to levy a tax on alcoholic beverages sold for on-site
consumption at private clubs; place limitations on the amount of
the tax; creation of a special account; and restricting the use of
these funds for regional jail costs, fire and rescue services and
law-enforcement activities only.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.