Sec. 30-24a. Golf country club permit. Nonprofit service club.
Sec. 30-24a. Golf country club permit. Nonprofit service club. (a) A golf country club permit shall allow the retail sale of alcoholic liquor to be consumed on the
premises of a golf country club but only by members and their guests. Notwithstanding
section 30-23, in a no-permit town a golf country club permit shall allow the retail sale
of alcoholic liquor to be consumed on the premises by members of a nonprofit service
club located in such town at a function of such club held at such golf country club. The
annual fee for a golf country club permit shall be eight hundred dollars.
(b) A nonprofit service club as used in subsection (a) of this section shall include
the Kiwanis Club, Rotary Club, Exchange Club, Lions Club, volunteer fire department
association, police benevolent association and religious clubs located in the same no-permit town as the golf country club.
(c) "Golf country club" means (1) an association of persons, whether incorporated
or unincorporated, that has been in existence as a bona fide organization for at least one
year prior to applying for a permit issued as provided by this chapter, or that at the time
of applying for the permit is in existence as a bona fide organization and has not less
than twenty members who have paid annual membership fees or dues and have signed
affidavits of their intention to remain members of the association for not less than one
year after that time, not including associations organized for any commercial or business
purpose the object of which is money profit, which maintains a golf course of not less
than eighteen holes and a course length of at least fifty-five hundred yards and a club
house with facilities that include locker rooms, a dining room and a lounge; provided
the club shall file with the department, upon request, within ten days of February first
in each year, a list of the names and residences of its members, and shall similarly file,
within ten days of the election of any additional member, his name and address, and
provided its aggregate annual membership fees or dues and other income, exclusive of
any proceeds of the sale of alcoholic liquor, shall be sufficient to defray the annual rental
of its leased or rented premises, or, if the premises are owned by the club, shall be
sufficient to meet the taxes, insurance and repairs and the interest on any mortgage
thereof; and provided, further, its affairs and management shall be conducted by a board
of directors, executive committee or similar body chosen by the members at their annual
meeting, and no member or any officer, agent or employee of the club shall be paid or,
directly or indirectly, shall receive in the form of salary or other compensation any
profits from the disposition or sale of alcoholic liquor to the club or to the members of
the club or its guests introduced by members, beyond the amount of such salary as
may be fixed and voted at annual meetings by the members or by its directors or other
governing body and as reported by the club to the department, within three months after
the annual meeting, and as is, in the judgment of the department, reasonable and proper
compensation for the services of such member, officer, agent or employee; or (2) an
association of persons, whether incorporated or unincorporated, which has been in existence as a bona fide organization for at least one year prior to applying for a permit
issued as provided by this chapter, or which at the time of applying for the permit is in
existence as a bona fide organization and has not less than twenty members who have
paid annual membership fees or dues and is directly or indirectly wholly owned by a
corporation which is and continues to be nonprofit and to which the Internal Revenue
Service has issued a ruling classifying it as an exempt organization under Section 501(c)
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or any subsequent corresponding internal revenue
code of the United States as from time to time amended, which maintains a golf course
of not less than eighteen holes and a course length of at least fifty-five hundred yards
and a club house with facilities which include locker rooms, a dining room and a lounge;
provided the club shall file with the department, upon request, within ten days of February first in each year, a list of the names and residences of its members, and shall similarly
file, within ten days of the admission of any additional member, his name and address.
The nonprofit corporation shall demonstrate to the commission an ability to pay any
operating deficit of the golf country club, exclusive of any proceeds of the sale of alcoholic liquor; and provided, further, the affairs and the management of the nonprofit
corporation are conducted by a board of directors, executive committee or similar body
at least forty per cent of the members of which are chosen by the members of the nonprofit
corporation at their annual meeting and the balance of the members of the board of
directors are professionals chosen for their knowledge of the business of the nonprofit
corporation, and all moneys earned by the golf country club shall be used to defray its
expenses of operation or for charitable purposes, and any balance shall be directly or
indirectly remitted to the nonprofit corporation.
(February, 1965, P.A. 553, S. 7; P.A. 73-601, S. 2, 3; P.A. 75-641, S. 8; P.A. 93-139, S. 23.)
History: P.A. 73-601 added exception re consumption of liquor at functions of nonprofit service clubs held at golf
country clubs in no-permit towns; P.A. 75-641 deleted reference to "subsection (22)" of Sec. 30-1; P.A. 93-139 made
technical changes, added the annual fee for a golf country club permit and added Subsec. (c) defining "golf country club".
See Sec. 52-571d re revocation of permit to sell alcoholic liquor where country club found to discriminate in classes
of membership or access to facilities or services.