Local News
Ala. Senate can’t override veto on liquor bill
Associated pressMONTGOMERY — Legislation to permit liquor sales in small towns in dry counties died for a short time in the Alabama Senate on Wednesday and then got new life.
Initially Wednesday, the Senate failed to override the governor’s veto of the bill. Proponents who wanted an override got 13 votes, and opponents pulled 15 votes.
Then a proponent, Democratic Sen. Lowell Barron of Fyffe, got the Senate to agree 17-9 to reconsider the override issue later. That could be any time before the legislative session ends May 15.
“There’s hope,” said the bill’s sponsor, Democratic Rep. Jimmy Martin of Clanton.
State law currently allows towns with at least 7,000 people in dry counties to vote to legalize liquor sales. Martin’s bill allows towns as small as 1,000 people to legalize liquor, but it excludes three dry counties: Clay, Randolph and Blount.
According to the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, 26 of Alabama’s 67 counties are dry, but 12 of them have wet cities. For instance, Chilton County is dry, but Clanton allows liquor sales.
In Cullman County, which has been dry for decades, the affected municipalities include Hanceville and Good Hope.
To place the choice on a local ballot in a special election, the bill requires supporters to collect signatures equaling 30 percent of the voters in the city’s last general election.
Martin’s bill would also make sure that restaurants in Shelby and Houston counties can continue to sell liquor on Sunday. Restaurants in the two counties have been doing that by using private clubs licenses on Sunday, but the state liquor agency says that’s not proper.
The Legislature passed Martin’s bill last month, but Riley vetoed it. He said combining two topics — municipal sales and Sunday sales — into one bill is unconstitutional. The House voted 54-19 last week to override the veto.
In the Senate, Sen. Hank Erwin, R-Montevallo, encouraged senators to support the governor’s veto. He said small towns don’t have enough police to handle the problems caused by liquor sales.
Sen. Bobby Denton, D-Muscle Shoals, said some small town residents are already buying liquor in other locations.
“If a little town in east Lauderdale County votes to sell liquor, it’s not going to be the end of the world because they are going to be buying it,” he said.
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