By Staples S.B. No. 1145
77R6750 AJA-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to a local option election on alcoholic beverage zones in
1-3 municipal commercial areas.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Subchapter D, Chapter 251, Alcoholic Beverage
1-6 Code, is amended by adding Section 251.742 to read as follows:
1-7 Sec. 251.742. MUNICIPAL ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE ZONE. (a) In
1-8 this section, "commercial area" means a contiguous area:
1-9 (1) in which 75 percent or more of the land area,
1-10 excluding street rights-of-way, is devoted to or restricted to any
1-11 combination of retail, restaurant, entertainment, office,
1-12 government, or business uses; and
1-13 (2) includes at least 20 commercial establishments.
1-14 (b) This section applies only to a municipality that:
1-15 (1) has a population of 25,000 or more; and
1-16 (2) is located in a county described by Section
1-17 251.74(a).
1-18 (c) The governing body of a municipality by resolution may
1-19 propose a zone within a commercial area of the municipality to be
1-20 designated as a zone in which the legal sale of one or more
1-21 prohibited types or classifications of alcoholic beverages may be
1-22 considered in a local option election under this section. The
1-23 resolution must:
1-24 (1) describe the boundaries of the proposed zone; and
2-1 (2) request that the county commissioners court of the
2-2 county in which the municipality is located:
2-3 (A) call an election on the issue; and
2-4 (B) prepare the ballot for the election that
2-5 describes the boundaries of the proposed zone and permits voting
2-6 for or against one of the ballot issues prescribed by Section
2-7 251.14 with respect to the proposed zone.
2-8 (d) An alcoholic beverage zone proposed under Subsection (c)
2-9 may not include an area that is incorporated in an existing
2-10 alcoholic beverage zone or that was incorporated in a proposed zone
2-11 for which a local option election was conducted during the two-year
2-12 period preceding the date of the resolution proposing the zone.
2-13 (e) The commissioners court shall order an election on the
2-14 issue unless the commissioners court determines that the proposed
2-15 zone does not conform to the requirements of this section.
2-16 (f) The qualified voters of a municipality may petition the
2-17 commissioners court of the county in which the municipality is
2-18 located, in the manner prescribed by this chapter, to order an
2-19 election to alter the status of the sale of any type or
2-20 classification of alcoholic beverages that has been legalized in a
2-21 zone by an election conducted under this section.
2-22 (g) An election conducted under this section shall be
2-23 conducted within the entire boundaries of the municipality in which
2-24 an alcoholic beverage zone is proposed as those boundaries exist on
2-25 the date of the election. The results of the election affect only
2-26 the wet or dry status of the area within the boundaries of the
2-27 zone.
3-1 (h) The provisions for conducting a local option election
3-2 under this chapter apply to an election conducted under this
3-3 section to the extent those provisions do not conflict with this
3-4 section.
3-5 (i) A municipality shall bear the cost of an election held
3-6 in the municipality under this section.
3-7 (j) The results of an election conducted under this section
3-8 do not affect the legal sale of one or more types or
3-9 classifications of alcoholic beverages that are permitted in the
3-10 zone because of the zone's inclusion in a political subdivision.
3-11 SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.