Proposed amendment submitted to limit private club liquor permits
Posted on Thursday, June 5, 2008
A Jonesboro businessman who attends Walnut Street Baptist Church said he’s “not going to start preaching” that people don’t need to drink alcohol. But Donnie Kissinger on Wednesday submitted to the attorney general a version of his proposed constitutional amendment to repeal a 2003 state law that expanded eligibility for private club alcohol permits.
The submission came a day after Attorney General Dustin McDaniel rejected Kissinger’s proposed ballot title and popular name for a constitutional amendment. He did so because Kissinger failed to submit a text for the proposed amendment, making it “impossible for me to determine whether your proposed ballot title is an accurate and impartial summarization of your measure.” Kissinger said he mistakenly thought the ballot title was enough to submit.
Kissinger’s new version states that it would repeal Act 1813 of 2003 because that law establishes “private clubs” as entertainment establishments to serve alcohol in counties that have been voted dry. The proposal states that it would restrict the Alcohol Beverage Control Board from granting more “private club” licenses in dry counties.
Kissinger said he decided to try to get the proposed amendment on the Nov. 4 general election ballot after a private club permit was issued last week for a Shogun restaurant in Jonesboro. There are more than 20 private clubs in the county, he said, and he has a difficult time believing that restaurants with private clubs are nonprofit organizations.
“I just feel like it is kind of like taking advantage of the system,” Kissinger said.
He said he believes that he could gather the 77, 468 signatures needed by July 7 to qualify a proposed amendment for the ballot by working through churches across the state if Mc-Daniel certifies the proposal soon.
“I am running out of time to get the petitions signed,” Kissinger said.
There are 23 private clubs in Craighead County, according to the Alcohol Beverage Control Board.
Act 1813 of 2003, sponsored by Rep. Betty Pickett, D-Conway, was intended to promote tourism and attract employers to dry areas by making it possible for restaurants to sell alcoholic drinks by getting licensed as private clubs. Critics contend that the law subverts decisions made by dry-county voters to forbid alcohol sales.
Before Act 1813, nonprofit corporations could be designated as private clubs to conduct “some common recreational, social, patriotic, political, national, benevolent, athletic or other nonprofit object or purpose other than the consumption of alcoholic beverages.” Act 1813 added the words “community hospitality, professional association, entertainment” to the definition.
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