(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 one thousand 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; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-3, S. 342.)

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”; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-3 increased fee in Subsec. (a) from $800 to $1,000.

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.