§ 3-9-222 — Private clubs - Procedure for obtaining permit

(a) (1) Application for a permit to operate as a private club may be made to the governing body of the county or municipality in which the private club seeks to be located. (2) If the governing body of the county or municipality approves by ordinance an application for a permit to operate as a private club under subdivision (a)(1) of this section, the Alcoholic Beverage Control Division may issue a permit to operate as a private club to the applicant for the proposed location. (b) (1) The application for a private club shall be submitted to the division and accompanied by an annual permit fee of one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500). (2) The application for a bed and breakfast private club shall be submitted to the division and accompanied by an annual permit fee of seventy-five dollars ($75.00). (3) In an area in which the sale of intoxicating liquor has not been authorized by local option as provided under § 3-8-201 et seq., the application for a private club permit shall be submitted to the division and accompanied by an additional application fee of one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500). (c) (1) After filing an acceptable application with the Director of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Division, the applicant shall cause to be published at least one (1) time each week for four (4) consecutive weeks in a legal newspaper of general circulation in the city in which the premises are situated or, if the premises are not in a city, in a newspaper of general circulation for the locality where the business is to be conducted, a notice that the applicant has applied for a permit to dispense alcoholic beverages on the premises. (2) The notice shall be in such form as the director shall prescribe by rule or order and shall be verified. (3) The notice shall give the names of the managing agent and the nonprofit corporation or, in the case of a bed and breakfast private club, the name of the business owner, and shall state: (A) That the manager, or in the case of a bed and breakfast private club, the owner, at least one (1) partner, or the majority stockholder is a citizen of Arkansas; (B) That he or she is of good moral character; (C) That he or she has never been convicted of a felony or had a license to sell or dispense alcoholic beverages revoked within the five (5) years preceding the date of the notice; and (D) That he or she has never been convicted of violating the laws of this state or of any other state governing the sale or dispensing of alcoholic beverages. (d) (1) Within five (5) days after filing an application for a permit to dispense alcoholic beverages on the premises, a notice of the application shall be posted in a conspicuous place at the entrance to the premises. (2) The applicant shall notify the director of the date when the notice is first posted. (3) No permit shall be issued to any applicant until proper notice has been so posted on the premises for at least thirty (30) consecutive days. (4) (A) The notice shall be in such form as the director shall prescribe by rule or order. (B) The notice shall be: (i) At least eleven inches (11") in width and seventeen inches (17") in height; and (ii) Printed in black lettering on a yellow background. (e) (1) Upon receipt by the director of an application for a permit, written notice thereof, which shall include a copy of the application, the application shall immediately be mailed by the director to the sheriff, chief of police, if located within a city, prosecuting attorney of the locality in which the premises are situated, and city board of directors or other governing body of the city in which the premises are situated if within an incorporated area. The provisions of this section shall be retroactive to July 28, 1995. (2) No license shall be issued by the director until at least thirty (30) days have passed from the mailing by the director of the notices required by this section. (3) Upon receipt by the director within the thirty (30) days of a protest against the issuance of a permit by a governing official of the city or county to whom the notice of an application for permit has been mailed, the director shall not issue the license until he or she has held a public hearing. (f) Upon the director's determining that the applicant is qualified hereunder and that the application is in the public interest, a permit may be issued as authorized in this section.

Legislative History

Amended by Act 2017, No. 1112,§ 1, eff. 8/1/2017. Acts 1969, No. 132, § 10; 1975 (Extended Sess., 1976), No. 1016, § 1; A.S.A. 1947, § 48-1410; reen. Acts 1987, No. 949, § 1; 1989, No. 297, § 1; 1997, No. 1010, § 3; 1997, No. 1060, § 3; 1999, No. 1063, § 3; 2007, No. 735, § 3; 2009, No. 294, § 22; 2009, No. 763, § 5.