BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 2065

                                                                                                                                        By: Goolsby

Licensing & Administrative Procedures

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The present three day period for preliminary memberships in a private club does not permit membership committee meeting dates to be set on a definite day of the week. Compliance will be increased if clubs are allowed to set a definite time and day for membership meeting to be held: for instance each Wednesday at 10:00 A.M., which in turn will simplify state audits.

Currently, the statute relates the penalty for noncompliance to the fee set for a temporary membership even though the two classes are not related, leading to confusion. The penalty for an act of noncompliance should not relate to a fee set for a class of membership, which could be changed or discontinued.  The current requirement in the statute that the club alcoholic beverage replacement be printed on each service check is meaningless.

 H.B. 2065 allows the issuance of a preliminary membership for a period of seven days and requires a fee to be paid to the state if the membership is not approved.  Furthermore, the bill will allow, rather than require, a service check to have printed on it certain information.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. 

ANALYSIS

Amends the Alcoholic Beverage Code by authorizing the committee or board to authorize the chairman or a designated agent to issue preliminary membership  without the approval of the committee or board for a period not exceeding seven days, rather than three days, on the request of an applicant for membership.  Requires the club to pay the state a fee of $3, rather than the fee required of temporary members under Section 32.09 of this code.

Authorizes, rather than requires, each service check to have printed on it the percentage of the service charge that is to be deposited in the alcoholic beverage replacement account, if an alcoholic beverages replacement account is used.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2005.