HB 1552-FN – AS INTRODUCED
2008 SESSION
03/09
HOUSE BILL 1552-FN
AN ACT relative to establishing a single liquor commissioner.
SPONSORS: Rep. McEachern, Rock 16; Rep. Marshall Quandt, Rock 13
COMMITTEE: Executive Departments and Administration
This bill replaces the members of the liquor commission with a single liquor commissioner.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
08-2089
03/09
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Eight
AN ACT relative to establishing a single liquor commissioner.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Liquor Commission. Amend RSA 176:1 to read as follows:
176:1 Commission. There shall be a state liquor commission [consisting of 3 members] under the executive direction of a liquor commissioner, who shall also be known as the chairman of the liquor commission, appointed by the governor with the consent of the council. [Not more than 2 members shall belong to the same political party. Each member] The liquor commissioner shall hold office for a term of 6 years. If a vacancy shall occur [in the commission], it shall be filled for the remainder of the term. [Any or all of the commissioners] The commissioner may be removed by the governor and council for cause.
2 Chairman; Compensation. Amend RSA 176:2 to read as follows:
176:2 [Chairman] Liquor Commissioner; Compensation. [The chairman of the commission shall be appointed and commissioned as such by the governor with the consent of the council, and his term shall be coterminous with each term of the governor unless his successor shall have been sooner appointed. The expiration or termination of a commission member’s term of office as chairman of the commission shall in no way affect the length of his term as a commission member as established under RSA 176:1.] The annual salary of [each member of the commission] the commissioner shall be as specified in RSA 94:1-a, and the [commissioners] commissioner shall receive [their] his or her reasonable expenses while traveling in the performance of [their] his or her duties, provided that [they] the commissioner shall not be allowed as expenses, travel between [their places] his or her place of residence and [their] the commissioner’s office in Concord, nor shall [they] the commissioner be allowed board or lodging while in Concord. The [chairman of the commission] commissioner shall serve as the representative to the National Alcoholic Beverage Control Association.
3 Requirements. Amend RSA 176:4 to read as follows:
176:4 Requirements. The [members of the commission] commissioner shall devote [their] his or her entire time to the service of the commission. [No member of the commission] The commissioner shall not be directly or indirectly interested in the liquor or beverage business. The compensation and expenses of the [commissioners] commissioner and the expenses of the administration of this chapter shall be paid by the state on the warrant of the governor with the approval of the council.
4 Investigations. Amend RSA 176:9, III to read as follows:
III. [Any member of the commission] The commissioner, assistant, or liquor investigator may enter any place where liquor or beverages are sold or manufactured, at any time, and may examine any license or permit issued or purported to have been issued under the terms of this title. They shall make complaints for violations of this title.
5 Purchases by the Liquor Commission. Amend RSA 176:17 to read as follows:
176:17 Purchases by the Liquor Commission. The liquor commission shall purchase all liquor, wine, and beverages from primary sources. For the purposes of this title, primary source means the manufacturer or producer, whether or not it is within the state. If a primary source is not available, the [commission] commissioner may, if [it] he or she feels it is in the best interests of the state, [vote at its regular meeting to] allow an exemption and shall explain why such exemption has been allowed.
6 Employment Prohibited. Amend RSA 179:21 to read as follows:
179:21 Employment Prohibited. No elected state official, [member of the] liquor [commission] commissioner, or employee of the liquor commission responsible for making recommendations to the commission relative to the purchase of liquor, wine, or beer shall hold a liquor or wine representative license for a period of [1] one year from the date that such person leaves office or terminates such employment.
7 Employment Intervention. Amend RSA 179:22, II to read as follows:
II. It shall be unlawful for the liquor commissioner or any [member or] employee of the commission knowingly to intervene in the selection, employment, or dismissal of any liquor or wine representative, or other agent or employee of any distiller, importer, rectifier, or other holder of a liquor or wine manufacturer license or liquor or wine vendor license.
8 Hearings. Amend RSA 179:56, I to read as follows:
I. The commission shall adopt and publish rules pursuant to RSA 541-A, to govern its proceedings and to regulate the mode and manner of all investigations and hearings before it. All hearings before the commission shall be in accordance with RSA 541-A31-36. In any such investigation or hearing the commission shall not be bound by the technical rules of evidence. The commission[, or any member,] may subpoena witnesses and administer oaths in any proceeding or examination instituted before or conducted by it, and may compel, by subpoena, the production of any accounts, books, contracts, records, documents, memoranda, and papers of any kind whatever. Witnesses summoned before the commission shall be paid the same fees as witnesses summoned to appear before the superior court, and such summons issued by any justice of the peace shall have the same effect as though issued for appearance before such court.
9 Applicability. Members of the liquor commission holding their offices on the effective date of this act shall remain in office until the expiration of their appointed terms. When the number of commissioners has thus been reduced to one, that commissioner shall serve as the liquor commissioner pursuant to the terms of this act until the expiration of his or her appointed term. Such commissioner’s successor shall be appointed and qualified under the provisions of this act.
10 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
LBAO
08-2089
12/06/07
HB 1552-FN - FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT relative to establishing a single liquor commissioner.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Liquor Commission states this bill will decrease state general fund expenditures by $122,807 in FY 2012. There will be no fiscal impact on county and local expenditures or state, county, and local revenue.
METHODOLOGY:
The Liquor Commission states this bill replaces the members of the Liquor Commission with a single liquor commissioner. The current liquor commissioners will serve their terms, but as the terms expire their positions will not be filled. When there is a single liquor commissioner remaining, they will serve as the liquor commissioner pursuant to this bill until their term expires. The terms for the three liquor commissioners expire July 2011, May 2013, and January 2014. The Liquor Commission’s expenditures will decrease by the salary and benefits of one commissioner in FY 2012.