2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 60. State Control of Alcoholic Liquors › Article 4. Licenses › §60-4-22. Wholesale Representatives Licenses

(a) A person, firm or corporation may not be or act or serve as an agent, broker or salesman selling or offering to sell or soliciting or negotiating the sale of alcoholic liquor to the commission or to any distributor licensed pursuant to article eight of this chapter without first obtaining a license so to do in accordance with the provisions of this section. Only salaried employees of distilleries, manufacturers, producers or processors of alcoholic liquor may be licensed hereunder and no person may be licensed hereunder who sells or offers to sell alcoholic liquor to the commission or any distributor on a fee or commission basis. The commission shall be the licensing authority and may grant to persons of good moral character the license herein provided and may refuse to grant such license to any person (1) convicted of a felony, within five years prior to his or her application, (2) convicted of a crime involving fraud, dishonesty, or deceit, within the previous five years before application, or (3) convicted of a felony violation of a state or federal liquor law within the previous five years before application; refuse to grant, suspend or revoke licenses. Licenses shall be on an annual basis for the period from July 1, until June 30 next following. New and renewal licenses shall be granted only upon verified application to the commission presented on forms provided by the commission. Any person representing more than one producer, manufacturer or distributor of alcoholic liquors shall file a separate application and shall obtain a separate license for each such representation. The annual license fee shall be $100. The fee for any license granted for the remainder of any license year between January 1, and June 30 of the same calendar year shall be $50.
(b) In addition to all other information which the commission may require to be supplied on the license application forms, each applicant shall be required to state his or her name and his or her residence address and the name and business address of the producer, manufacturer or distributor he or she represents; the name and address of each additional producer, manufacturer or distributor of alcoholic liquors he or she represents; the monetary total of all alcoholic liquor sales, if any, made by him or her to the commission or to any distributor licensed pursuant to article eight of this chapter during the fiscal year preceding the license year for which he or she is seeking a license; the monetary total of the gross income received by him or her on such sales, if any, during such fiscal year; whether he or she has, during such fiscal year, made or given, voluntarily or on request, any gift, contribution of money or property to any member or employee of the commission or of any distributor licensed pursuant to article eight of this chapter or to or for the benefit of any political party committee or campaign fund; and his or her relationship, if any, by blood or marriage, to any member of the commission or to any elected or appointive state official, county official or municipal official. All such applications shall be verified by oath of the applicant and shall be prepared and filed in duplicate. All such applications and a current list of all licensees hereunder shall be matters of public record and shall be available to public inspection at the commissions offices at the State Capitol. Every licensee who ceases to be an agent, broker or salesman, as herein contemplated, shall so advise the commission in writing and such persons name shall be immediately removed from the license list and his or her license shall be canceled and terminated.
(c) All persons licensed under this section shall be authorized representatives of the wineries, farm wineries, distilleries, mini-distilleries, manufacturers, producers, or processors of alcoholic liquor they represent. A licensed person may not share, divide, or split his or her salary with any person other than his or her wife or some legal dependent, nor may he or she make any contribution to any political party campaign fund in this state.
(d) All licensees shall be subject to all other provisions of this chapter and to the lawful rules promulgated by the commission. Licenses may be refused, suspended, or revoked by the commission for cause, including any of the applicable grounds of revocation specified in section nineteen of this article. Provisions of this article relating to notice, hearing and appeals shall, to the extent applicable, govern procedures on suspension and revocation of licenses hereunder.
(e) Any person, firm or corporation violating any provision of this section, including knowingly making of any false statement in a verified application for a license shall be guilty of a misdemeanor offense and shall, upon conviction thereof, be fined not exceeding $1,000 or imprisoned in jail not exceeding 12 months, or be subject to both such fine and imprisonment in the discretion of the court.