S.L. 1965-653

NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

1965 SESSION

CHAPTER 653

SENATE BILL 304

AN ACT AUTHORIZING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF CITY LIQUOR CONTROL STORES IN THE CITY OF LEXINGTON UPON A VOTE OF THE PEOPLE AND PROVIDING FOR THE ALLOCATION OF THE NET PROCEEDS FROM THE OPERATION OF SUCH STORES.

The General Assembly of North Carolina do enact:

Section 1. The City Council of the City of Lexington may on its own motion and shall upon a petition to said council, signed by at least fifteen per cent (15%) of the qualified voters who voted in the last election, order an election to be held on the question of whether or not city liquor control stores may be operated in the City of Lexington and if a majority of the votes cast in such election shall be for the operation of such stores, it shall be legal for liquor control stores to be set up and operated in said city, but if a majority of the votes cast in said election shall be against the operation of city liquor control stores, no such stores shall be set up or operated in said city under provision of this Act.

Sec. 2. In calling for such special liquor election, the said council shall give at least twenty days public notice of the same prior to the opening of the registration books, and said registration books shall remain open for the same period of time before such special liquor election as is required by law for them to remain open for a regular municipal election. A new registration of voters for such special liquor election shall not be necessary and all qualified electors who are properly registered prior to registration for the special election and those who register in said special liquor election shall be entitled to vote in said election. In said election a ballot shall be used upon which shall be printed on separate lines for each proposition:

"[ ] FOR City of Lexington Liquor Control Stores."

"[ ] AGAINST City of Lexington Liquor Control Stores."

Those favoring setting up and operating liquor control stores in the City of Lexington shall mark in the voting squares to the left of the words "FOR City of Lexington Liquor Control Stores" printed on the ballot, and those opposed to city liquor control stores shall mark in the voting square to the left of the words "AGAINST City of Lexington Liquor Control Stores." Except as otherwise herein provided, the special election authorized shall be conducted under the same Statutes, rules and regulations applicable to elections for the Mayor of the City of Lexington. The cost of such election shall be paid from the general fund of the City of Lexington.

Sec. 3. If a subsequent election shall be held and at such election a majority of the votes shall be cast "AGAINST City of Lexington Liquor Control Stores", the City of Lexington Liquor Control Board shall within three months from the canvassing of such votes and declaration of the result thereof, close said stores and shall thereafter cease to operate the same, and within three months the City of Lexington Liquor Control Board shall dispose of all alcoholic beverages on hand, all fixtures, and all other property in the hands and under the control of said board and convert the same into cash and turn the same over to the city treasurer. Thereafter, all Public, Public-Local, and Private Laws applicable to the sale of intoxicating beverages within said City of Lexington in force and effect prior to the authorization to operate City of Lexington Liquor Control Stores shall be in full force and effect the same as if such election had not been held until and unless another election is held under the provisions of the Act in which a majority of the votes shall be cast "FOR City of Lexington Liquor Control Stores". No election shall be called and held in the City of Lexington under the provisions of this Act within two years from the holding of the last election thereunder. It shall be the duty of the City Council of the City of Lexington to order the special liquor election herein authorized within sixty days after a sufficient petition has been filed requesting the same. But no election under this Act shall be held on the day of the biennial, county, or City of Lexington general election or primary election, or within thirty days of any such election.

Sec. 4. If the operation of city liquor control stores is authorized under the provisions of this Act, the Mayor and City Council of the City of Lexington shall immediately create a city board of alcoholic control to be composed of a chairman and two other members who shall be well known for their character, ability, and business acumen. Said board shall be known and designated as "The City of Lexington Board of Alcoholic Control." The chairman of said board shall be designated by the Mayor and City Council of the City of Lexington and shall serve for his first term a period of three years, and one member shall serve for his first term a period of two years, and the other member shall serve for a period of one year; and all terms shall begin with the date of their appointment, and after the said terms shall have expired, their successors in office shall serve for a period of three years. Their successors, or any vacancy occurring in the board, shall be named or filled by the Mayor and the Governing Body of the City of Lexington.

Sec. 5. The said City of Lexington Board of Alcoholic Control shall have all of the powers and duties imposed by Section 18-45 of the General Statutes of North Carolina on county boards of alcoholic control and shall be subject to the powers and authority of the State Board of Alcoholic Control the same as county boards of alcoholic control as provided in Section 18-39 of the General Statutes.

The said City of Lexington Board of Alcoholic Control and the operation of any city liquor stores authorized under the provisions of this Act shall be subject to and in pursuance with the provisions of Article 3 of Chapter 18 of the General Statutes, except to the extent which the same may be in conflict with the provisions of this Act. Wherever the word "county" board of alcoholic control appears in said Article, it shall include the City of Lexington Board of Alcoholic Control.

Sec. 6. The net profits derived from the operation of liquor control stores in the City of Lexington, after deducting the necessary funds for law enforcement as provided in G. S. 18-45, shall be divided as follows:

1. Fifteen per cent (15%) to the general fund of the City of Lexington for the acquisition and improvement of lands and buildings for public parks, playgrounds, and recreational centers and the maintenance and operation of the same.

2. Fifteen per cent (15%) to the City of Lexington Administrative School Unit to operate the City of Lexington Administrative School Unit Schools at a higher standard than provided by county or State support, including the use of said funds for capital improvements, and to supplement the salaries of public school teachers teaching in the City of Lexington Administrative School Unit.

3. The remaining net profits shall be paid to the City Council of the City of Lexington to be used for general fund purposes.

Sec. 7. All laws and clauses of laws in conflict with this Act are hereby repealed.

Sec. S. This Act shall become effective upon its ratification.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 21st day of May, 1965.