H.B. No. 1199
AN ACT
relating to local option elections for the sale of alcoholic
beverages; providing a criminal penalty.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 11.37, Alcoholic Beverage Code, is
amended by adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
(c) Once a permit is issued, the certification that the
location or address is in a wet area may not be changed until after a
subsequent local option election to prohibit the sale of alcoholic
beverages.
SECTION 2. Section 61.37, Alcoholic Beverage Code, is
amended by adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
(c) Once a license is issued, the certification that the
location or address is in a wet area may not be changed until after a
subsequent local option election to prohibit the sale of alcoholic
beverages.
SECTION 3. Section 251.03, Alcoholic Beverage Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 251.03. APPLICATION FOR PETITION. If 10 or more
qualified voters of any county, justice precinct, or incorporated
city or town file a written application and provide proof of
publication in a newspaper of general circulation in that political
subdivision, the county clerk of the county shall issue to the
applicants a petition to be circulated among the qualified voters
of that political subdivision for the signatures of those qualified
voters in the area who desire that a local option election be called
in that area for the purpose of determining whether the sale of
alcoholic beverages of one or more of the various types and
alcoholic contents shall be prohibited or legalized in the
political subdivision. Not later than the fifth day after the date
the petition is issued, the county clerk shall notify the
commission and the secretary of state that the petition has been
issued.
SECTION 4. Section 251.07, Alcoholic Beverage Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 251.07. HEADING AND STATEMENT ON PETITION TO PROHIBIT.
Each page of the [The] petition for a local option election seeking
to prohibit the sale of alcoholic beverages of one or more of the
various types and alcoholic contents shall be headed "Petition for
Local Option Election to Prohibit." The petition shall contain a
statement just ahead of the signatures of the petitioners, as
follows: "It is the hope, purpose and intent of the petitioners
whose signatures appear hereon to see prohibited the sale of
alcoholic beverages referred to in the issue set out above." The
petition must clearly state the issue to be voted on, and that issue
must be one of those issues set out in Section 251.14 of this code.
SECTION 5. Section 251.08, Alcoholic Beverage Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 251.08. HEADING AND STATEMENT ON PETITION TO LEGALIZE.
Each page of the [The] petition for a local option election seeking
to legalize the sale of alcoholic beverages of one or more of the
various types and alcoholic contents shall be headed "Petition for
Local Option Election to Legalize." The petition shall contain a
statement just ahead of the signatures of the petitioners, as
follows: "It is the hope, purpose and intent of the petitioners
whose signatures appear hereon to see legalized the sale of
alcoholic beverages referred to in the issue set out above." The
petition must clearly state the issue to be voted on, and that issue
must be one of those issues set out in Section 251.14 of this code.
SECTION 6. Subchapter A, Chapter 251, Alcoholic Beverage
Code, is amended by adding Section 251.081 to read as follows:
Sec. 251.081. OFFENSE: MISREPRESENTATION OF PETITION. A
person commits an offense if the person misrepresents the purpose
or effect of a petition issued under this chapter. An offense under
this section is a Class B misdemeanor.
SECTION 7. Section 251.10, Alcoholic Beverage Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 251.10. VERIFICATION OF PETITION. (a) The registrar
of voters of the county shall check the names of the signers of
petitions and the voting precincts in which they reside to
determine whether the signers of the petition were qualified voters
of the county, justice precinct, or incorporated city or town at the
time the petition was issued. The political subdivision may use a
statistical sampling method to verify the signatures. On written
request from a citizen in the political subdivision for which an
election is sought, the political subdivision shall verify each
signature on the petition. The citizen making the request shall pay
the reasonable cost of the verification. The registrar shall
certify to the commissioners court the number of qualified voters
signing the petition.
(b) A petition [No] signature may not be counted unless the
signature [, either by the registrar or commissioners court, where
there is reason to believe that:
[(1) it] is [not] the actual signature of the
purported signer and the petition:
(1) contains in addition to the signature:
(A) the signer's printed name;
(B) the signer's date of birth;
(C) if the territory from which signatures must
be obtained is situated in more than one county, the county of
registration;
(D) the signer's residence address; and
(E) the date of signing; and
(2) complies with any other applicable requirements
prescribed by law[;
[(2) the voter registration certificate number is not
correct;
[(3) the voter registration certificate number is not
in the actual handwriting of the signer;
[(4) it is a duplication either of a name or of
handwriting used in any other signature on the petition;
[(5) the residence address of the signer is not
correct or is not in the actual handwriting of the signer; or
[(6) the name of the voter is not signed exactly as it
appears on the official copy of the current list of registered
voters for the voting year in which the petition is issued].
(c) The use of ditto marks or abbreviations does not
invalidate a signature if the required information is reasonably
ascertainable.
(d) The omission of the state from the signer's residence
address does not invalidate a signature unless the political
subdivision from which the signature is obtained is situated in
more than one state. The omission of the zip code from the address
does not invalidate a signature.
(e) The signature is the only entry on the petition that is
required to be in the signer's handwriting.
(f) A signer may withdraw the signer's signature by deleting
the signature from the petition or by filing with the registrar of
voters an affidavit requesting that the signature be withdrawn from
the petition. A signer may not withdraw the signature from a
petition on or after the date the petition is received by the
registrar of voters. A withdrawal affidavit filed by mail is
considered to be filed at the time of its receipt by the registrar
of voters. The withdrawal of a signature nullifies the signature on
the petition and places the signer in the same position as if the
signer had not signed the petition.
SECTION 8. Section 251.11, Alcoholic Beverage Code, is
amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (d) to
read as follows:
(a) The [Except as provided by Subsection (b) or (c), the]
commissioners court, at its next regular session on or after the
30th day after the date the petition is filed, shall order a local
option election to be held on the issue set out in the petition if
the petition is filed with the registrar of voters not later than
the 60th day [30 days] after the date the petition [it] is issued
and bears [in the actual handwriting of the signers the following:
[(1)] the actual signatures of a number of qualified
voters of the political subdivision equal to:
(1) 35 percent of the registered voters in the
subdivision for a ballot issue that permits voting for or against:
(A) "The legal sale of all alcoholic beverages
for off-premise consumption only.";
(B) "The legal sale of all alcoholic beverages,
except mixed beverages.";
(C) "The legal sale of all alcoholic beverages
including mixed beverages."; or
(D) "The legal sale of mixed beverages.";
(2) 25 percent of the registered voters in the
subdivision who voted in the most recent general election for a
ballot issue that permits voting for or against "The legal sale of
wine on the premises of a holder of a winery permit."; or
(3) 35 percent of the registered voters in the
subdivision who voted in the most recent gubernatorial election for
an election on any other ballot issue [a notation showing the
residence address of each of the signers; and
[(3) each signer's voter registration certificate
number].
(d) Voters whose names appear on the list of registered
voters with the notation "S," or a similar notation, shall be
excluded from the computation of the number of registered voters of
a particular territory.
SECTION 9. Section 251.18, Alcoholic Beverage Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 251.18. ELECTION IN CERTAIN CITIES AND TOWNS. (a)
This section applies only to an election to permit or prohibit the
legal sale of alcoholic beverages of one or more of the various
types and alcoholic contents[:
[(1) mixed beverages by a food and beverage
certificate holder] in an incorporated city or town that is located
in more than one county[; or
[(2) beer and wine in an incorporated city or town that
does not permit beer and wine sales on September 1, 2001, and is
located in:
[(A) two counties:
[(i) that each have a population of at least
250,000 but not more than one million; and
[(ii) one of which contains a city or town
with a population of 125,000 or more; or
[(B) three counties:
[(i) that each have a population of not more
than 300,000; and
[(ii) one of which contains a city or town
with a population of 20,000 or more].
(b) An election to which this section applies shall be
conducted by the city or town instead of the county. For the
purposes of an election conducted under this section, a reference
in this code [in this subchapter and Subchapters B and C]:
(1) [a reference] to the county is considered to refer
to the city or town;
(2) [a reference] to the commissioners court is
considered to refer to the governing body of the city or town;
(3) [a reference] to the county clerk or registrar of
voters is considered to refer to the secretary of the city or town
or, if the city or town does not have a secretary, to the person
performing the functions of a secretary of the city or town; and
(4) [a reference] to the county judge is considered to
refer to the mayor of the city or town or, if the city or town does
not have a mayor, to the presiding officer of the governing body of
the city or town.
(c) The city or town shall pay the expense of the election.
(d) An action to contest the election under Section 251.55
may be brought in the district court of any county in which the city
or town is located.
SECTION 10. Section 251.31(b), Alcoholic Beverage Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) The votes shall be counted [after the polls are closed]
and the report of the election submitted to the commissioners court
within 24 hours after the closing of the polls.
SECTION 11. Section 251.35(c), Alcoholic Beverage Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(c) Election watchers may be appointed in accordance with
general law[, but they must be qualified voters of the election
precinct where they serve].
SECTION 12. Sections 251.11(b), 251.19, 251.32, 251.33,
251.35(a), and 251.36, Alcoholic Beverage Code, and Section
251.11(c), Alcoholic Beverage Code, as added by Chapters 1001 and
1062, Acts of the 77th Legislature, Regular Session, 2001, are
repealed.
SECTION 13. The changes in law made by this Act apply only
to a local option election for which an application for a petition
is filed on or after the effective date of this Act. A local option
election for which an application for a petition is filed before the
effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect
immediately before that date, and that law is continued in effect
for that purpose.
SECTION 14. An application for a permit to upgrade from the
sale of beer and wine to the sale of mixed beverages that was
pending certification under Section 11.37, Alcoholic Beverage
Code, before May 1, 2003, for an area for which a permit was issued
for the sale of mixed beverages and in which a local option election
to prohibit the sale of alcoholic beverages was not held subsequent
to the date of the original application for the upgrade and before
May 1, 2003, may be resubmitted, if necessary, regardless of any
previous action taken on the application. The application shall be
certified under Section 11.37, Alcoholic Beverage Code, if the
application otherwise meets the requirements prescribed by
applicable law. This section expires September 1, 2004.
SECTION 15. This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 1199 was passed by the House on April
24, 2003, by a non-record vote; and that the House concurred in
Senate amendments to H.B. No. 1199 on May 22, 2003, by a non-record
vote.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 1199 was passed by the Senate, with
amendments, on May 20, 2003, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays
0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: __________________
Date
__________________
Governor