House Bill 5098, Section 1 (Act No. 312)

Local Option Permits—Municipal Referendum Procedure

Code Section 61-6-2010, which authorizes Sunday sales of beer, wine and liquor under temporary permits, known as local option permits, in counties and municipalities that approve Sunday sales by referendum, has been amended.  Subsection (H) was added to define “general election” and clarify the procedure for a municipal Sunday sales referendum.

General Elections.  For purposes of a referendum under Code Section 61-6-2010, “general election” means either (i) a county election held on the first Tuesday following the first Monday in November of even-numbered years or (ii) a municipal election held at a time other than the first Tuesday following the first Monday in November of even-numbered years—in other words, any day other than the day a county general election is held.

Municipal Referendum Procedure.  A municipality may call, by ordinance, for a referendum to be held on the same date as the county general election if:

1.  The municipality does not have a municipal general election scheduled on another day within the same calendar year; and

2.  A copy of the ordinance has been filed with the county and municipal election commissions no later than deadline set forth in Code Section 7-13-355 for submission of questions to be placed on a referendum.

The municipality must pay the expenses for its referendum.  A municipal referendum held on the same date as the county general election may be conducted by a municipal election commission or a county election commission as agreed between the municipality and the county.

Effective Date: June 18, 2012