The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 7: Alcoholic Beverages, Cannabis, and Tobacco

Chapter 007: Municipal Control

• § 161. Licenses voted by town; town meetings; warning

  (a) Upon petition of not less than five percent of the legal voters of any town, filed with the town clerk in conformance with 17 V.S.A. § 2642, the warning of the annual or special meeting shall contain an article providing for a vote upon the following questions:

  Shall licenses for the sale of malt beverages, vinous beverages, and ready-to-drink spirits beverages be granted in this town?

  Shall spirits and fortified wines be sold in this town?

  The vote under the article shall be by ballot in the following form:

  Shall licenses for the sale of malt beverages, vinous beverages, and ready-to-drink spirits beverages be granted in this town?

  Yes ___ No ___

  Shall spirits and fortified wines be sold in this town?

  Yes ___ No ___

  (b) Licenses and permits for the sale of malt beverages, vinous beverages, ready-to-drink spirits beverages, and spirits and fortified wines shall be issued according to the vote at the annual town meeting held in March 1969 until a town votes otherwise. (Amended 1967, No. 271 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. April 15, 1969; 1977, No. 68, § 1; 2017, No. 83, § 14; 2021, No. 177 (Adj. Sess.), § 5, eff. July 1, 2022.)

• § 162. Report

  After any annual town meeting in which a town votes on the questions set forth in section 161 of this title, the town clerk shall report promptly the results of the vote to the Board of Liquor and Lottery, upon forms furnished by the Board. (Amended 1967, No. 271 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. April 15, 1968; 2017, No. 83, § 14; 2018, No. 1 (Sp. Sess.), § 22.)

• § 163. Ballots; color

  (a) Whenever a petition is filed under section 161 of this title, the town clerk shall print, at least two weeks before the annual or special meeting, blank ballots for the votes provided for in section 161 of this title in any color except yellow. The ballots shall be printed in a quantity equal to not less than one and one-tenth times the number of registered voters at the last preceding general election, as shown by the checklist.

  (b) Upon each ballot shall be endorsed the words: “OFFICIAL BALLOT” followed by the name of the town in which it is to be used and the date of the election. The town clerk is authorized to use regular ballots for the requisite number of sample ballots by adding in type or print on the front of each ballot, the words: “SAMPLE BALLOT.” (Amended 1967, No. 271 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. April 15, 1969; 1977, No. 68, § 2; 1979, No. 200 (Adj. Sess.), § 117; 2017, No. 83, § 14.)

• § 164. Duties of ballot clerks and town clerks

  The board of civil authority, or the ballot clerks if directed by the board of civil authority, shall have charge of the ballots and perform the duties imposed upon ballot clerks and assisting clerks and be subject to the penalties imposed upon such officials by law. The town clerk shall perform the same duties in respect to the ballots as are imposed upon him or her by the provisions of law governing general elections, except as otherwise provided. (Amended 2017, No. 83, § 14.)

• § 165. Hours of opening

  The box for the reception of the ballots shall be opened at the hour the meeting is called and be closed when general voting ceases. (Amended 1977, No. 68, § 3; 2017, No. 83, § 14.)

• § 166. Control commissioners

  There shall be control commissioners in each town and city. The control commissioners shall be the selectboard members in each town and the city council members in each city. The town and city clerks shall be recording officers and clerks of the commissioners and be paid as provided in 24 V.S.A. §§ 932 and 933. (Amended 2017, No. 83, § 14.)

• § 167. Duties of local control commissioners

  (a) The local control commissioners shall administer the rules furnished to them by the Board of Liquor and Lottery, as necessary to carry out the purposes of this title. Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, all applications for and forms of licenses and permits, and all rules, shall be prescribed by the Board of Liquor and Lottery, which shall prepare and issue the applications, forms, and rules.

  (b) If the municipality so votes at a meeting duly warned for that purpose, the local control commissioners may, in the exercise of their authority under this title, condition the issuance of licenses and permits upon compliance, during the term of the license or permit, with any ordinance regulating entertainment or public nuisances that has been duly adopted by the municipality at a meeting duly warned for that purpose.

  (c) The local control commissioners may, in the exercise of their authority under section 210 of this title, suspend or revoke a license or permit for a violation of any condition placed upon the issuance of the license or permit under subsection (b) of this section. (Amended 1987, No. 103, § 2; 1997, No. 162 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. April 29, 1998; 2017, No. 83, § 14; 2018, No. 1 (Sp. Sess.), § 23.)

• § 168. Unorganized places; control commissioners

  In an unorganized town or gore, the supervisor shall be the control commissioner for the administration of the rules necessary to carry out the applicable provisions of this title. He or she may in his or her discretion issue and approve the issuance of licenses and permits as he or she finds will best serve the interests of the inhabitants. The provisions of sections 161-165 and 201 of this title, insofar as they relate to voting, shall not apply to unorganized towns and gores. (Added 1959, No. 162, eff. May 6, 1959; amended 2017, No. 83, § 14.)