BILL ANALYSIS Ó SENATE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION Senator Isadore Hall, III Chair 2015 - 2016 Regular Bill No: SB 905 Hearing Date: 4/12/2016 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Author: |Bates | |-----------+-----------------------------------------------------| |Version: |4/7/2016 Amended | ----------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------ |Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |No | ------------------------------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Consultant:|Arthur Terzakis | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- SUBJECT: Alcoholic beverage control: club licenses DIGEST: This bill authorizes the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) to issue a club license to a nonprofit umbrella organization consisting of multiple veteran organizations established to provide a central meeting location, resources, and services for veterans and does not discriminate or restrict membership, as specified. ANALYSIS: Existing law: 1)Establishes the Department of ABC and grants it exclusive authority to administer the provisions of the ABC Act in accordance with laws enacted by the Legislature. This involves licensing individuals and businesses associated with the manufacture, importation and sale of alcoholic beverages in this state and the collection of license fees for this purpose. 2)For purposes of the ABC Act, defines "club" to mean a corporation or association which is the owner, lessee, or occupant of an establishment operated solely for objects of a social or athletic nature but not for pecuniary gain, having a bona fide membership list, and the majority of the members of which pay dues at least once in every year, and the property as well as the advantages of which belong to the members, and SB 905 (Bates) Page 2 of ? which sells alcoholic beverages only to its members and its bona fide guests. (B & P Code Section 23037) 3)Provides for the issuance of a "club" license allowing the sale of alcoholic beverages to a plethora of clubs/organizations (e.g., golf club, swimming club, tennis club, horse riding club, beach and athletic club, handball or racquetball club, nonprofit mobile homeowners social club, national fraternal organizations, rod and gun club, peace officers and firefighters associations, nonprofit social and religious club, National Guard or Air National Guard club, labor council, American Citizens club, local dental society club, condominium homeowners' association, Hidalgo Society, nonprofit lawn bowls club, etc.). 4)Also, authorizes the issuance of a "veterans" club license and defines veteran to mean any person who has served in the United States Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, or as an active nurse in the service of the American Red Cross, or in the Army and Navy Nurse Corps in time of war, or in any expedition of the Armed Forces of the United States, or who has served in one of these services during the period September 16, 1940, to December 7, 1941, and received a discharge under conditions other than dishonorable. (B & P Code Section 23450) 5)Defines "veteran" to mean any person who has served full time in the Armed Forces in time of national emergency or state military emergency or during an expedition of the Armed Forces and who has been discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable. (Government Code Section 18540.4) 6)Provides that the holder of a veterans' club license may exercise all of the rights and privileges permitted by an on-sale general license but may sell and serve alcoholic beverages for consumption within the licensed establishment only to bona fide members of the veterans' organization and their bona fide guests, bona fide members of other veterans' organizations, active duty or reserve members of the Armed Forces or veteran's as defined in Section 18540.4 of the Government Code. This bill establishes a new "club" license in the ABC Act that authorizes the Department of ABC to issue an alcoholic beverage license to a nonprofit umbrella organization that serves at SB 905 (Bates) Page 3 of ? least six veteran organizations, as specified and does not discriminate or restrict membership on account of the person's color, race, religion, ancestry, national origin, sex, or age. Background Purpose of SB 905: Over the years, numerous "club" licenses have been added to the ABC Act allowing the license holder to sell and serve alcoholic beverages for consumption within the licensed establishment and "only" to members of the club and their guests. The author's office states that recent legislation, SB 685 (McGuire, Chapter 423, Statutes of 2015), which expanded the authority of a veterans' club to serve and sell alcoholic beverages for consumption within the club premises to specified members inadvertently did not address nonprofit umbrella organizations consisting of multiple veteran service organizations (VSOs) such as the Veterans Association of North County (VANC) in San Diego. This bill is intended to fix this oversight and make VANC and other similar associations eligible for the same privileges as their constituent member organizations. The author's office notes that VANC was established as a non-profit in 2007 to provide a central meeting place for North County veterans' organizations and their members, as well as to provide training, counseling, job placement, housing assistance and other services to veterans. VANC worked with the City of Oceanside to establish a long-term lease of an abandoned police station that they have refurbished and is awaiting its grand opening. In addition to providing a meeting facility, the training that VANC hopes to offer its members and community is security guard training and certification, truck driver training, fiber optics training and certification, as well as, a culinary arts training and certification program utilizing the kitchen facilities. VANC would also like to use the facility for a variety of receptions and dinners. Prior/Related Legislation SB 685 (McGuire, Chapter 423, Statutes of 2015) expanded the privileges of a holder of a veterans' club license by allowing SB 905 (Bates) Page 4 of ? the licensee to also sell and serve alcoholic beverages for consumption within the licensed establishment to members of other veterans' organizations, active duty or reserve members of the Armed Forces, or veterans, as well as to the members of the veterans' organization and their guests. AB 2793 (Governmental Organization Committee, Chapter 273, Statutes of 2010) among other things, authorized the Department of ABC to issue a club license to nonprofit lawn bowls' clubs that do not discriminate or restrict membership, as specified. FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local: No SUPPORT: Veterans Association of North County (source) OPPOSITION: None received