78R4627 MCK-F
By: Goolsby H.B. No. 1105
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to requirements for a private club registration permit
under the Alcoholic Beverage Code.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Sections 32.03(b), (c), and (d), Alcoholic
Beverage Code, are amended to read as follows:
(b) The club must be an association of persons, whether
unincorporated or incorporated under the laws of this state, for
the promotion of some common object. A club that was originally
formed as an association of persons may incorporate under the laws
of this state as approved by the administrator. The commission
shall issue a replacement permit to the new corporate entity on the
payment of a $100 service fee.
(c) Members of the club must be passed on and elected by a
committee or board made up of members of the club[, and no employee
of the club shall be eligible to serve on the membership committee
or board]. Membership in the club may be granted only by an
application containing the name and current residential, business,
or post office address, including zip code, of the applicant and a
statement affirming that the applicant is 21 years of age or older.
The name and address submitted shall be incorporated into the
membership records of the club, and the application, signed by the
applicant, shall be maintained as a permanent club record as
required by the commission.
(d) No application for membership may be approved until the
application has been filed with the chairman of the membership
committee or board and approved by the chairman. The committee or
board may authorize the chairman or a designated agent to issue
preliminary memberships without the approval of the committee or
board for a period not exceeding seven [three] days on the request
of an applicant for membership. A preliminary member has all of the
privileges of membership in the club. If the committee or board
does not approve the application before the expiration of the
preliminary membership, the club shall pay to the state a [the] fee
of $3 [required of temporary members under Section 32.09 of this
code]. The club shall remit the fees and record and report
preliminary memberships as the commission or the administrator
prescribes.
SECTION 2. Chapter 32, Alcoholic Beverage Code, is amended
by adding Section 32.031 to read as follows:
Sec. 32.031. PRIVATE CLUB LOCATED IN A RESTAURANT. (a) In
this section, "restaurant club" means a private club that:
(1) has as its premises an undivided portion of the
premises of a public restaurant; and
(2) is a holder of a food and beverage certificate.
(b) A restaurant club may contract with another entity to
manage the club if the entity:
(1) is authorized to do business in this state; and
(2) complies with the same requirements applicable to
private club registration permit applicants.
(c) An entity contracted to manage a restaurant club under
Subsection (b) may:
(1) establish and staff a membership committee as
provided by Section 32.03(c);
(2) purchase and manage the alcoholic beverage
inventory of the club members;
(3) establish the price of services provided to the
club members; and
(4) produce club records as required by statute or by
commission rule.
(d) The bylaws of a restaurant club may establish a
procedure for the appointment of club officers by a management
entity.
(e) If a restaurant club membership committee is
established under Subsection (c)(1), the committee must be unique
to the club and shall meet on or about the premises of the club.
Proof of the meeting may be established by resolution or other
documentation as prescribed by the administrator. The
documentation must be dated and personally signed at the meeting by
the committee members who attend the meeting. Upon proof of the
validity of the documentation, the documentation is conclusive
proof of action by the committee or board in compliance with the
seven-day period referenced in Section 32.03(d).
(f) A group of 10 or more individuals who are residents of
this state and at least 21 years of age may form a committee to be
designated as the charter members and as the members of the liquor
pool of a restaurant club. The committee may sponsor an application
for a private club registration permit as a nonprofit corporation.
The committee must include all original officers of the club. A
restaurant club formed under this section may not serve alcoholic
beverages to members until the club has met the membership
requirements in Section 32.03(e).
SECTION 3. Section 32.06(b), Alcoholic Beverage Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) If an alcoholic beverages replacement account is used:
(1) each service check may [shall] have printed on it
the percentage of the service charge that is to be deposited in the
alcoholic beverages replacement account;
(2) no money other than the designated percentage of
service charges may be deposited in the replacement account;
(3) the replacement of alcoholic beverages may be paid
for only from money in the replacement account;
(4) the club's governing body may transfer from the
replacement account to the club's general operating account any
portion of the replacement account that the governing body
determines is in excess of the amount that will be needed to
purchase replacement alcoholic beverages or repay a loan for the
original purchase of alcoholic beverages, but it may make only one
transfer in a calendar month; and
(5) the club shall maintain a monthly record of the
total amount of alcoholic beverage service charges collected, the
amount deposited in the replacement account, the amount used to
purchase alcoholic beverages or repay a loan for the original
purchase of alcoholic beverages, and the amount transferred to the
club's general operating account.
SECTION 4. Section 32.13, Alcoholic Beverage Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 32.13. INSPECTION OF BOOKS AND RECORDS. (a) All
books and records pertaining to the operation of any permittee
club, including a current listing, correct to the last day of the
preceding month, of all members of the club who have liquor stored
on the club premises under either the locker or pool system, shall
be made available to the commission or its authorized
representatives on request.
(b) The records required to be maintained by a permittee
under this chapter may be maintained in an electronic storage
format. If a record is maintained in an electronic format, the
permittee must be able to reformat the record, within a reasonable
time, into a legible hard copy at the request of the commission.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.