By: Paul Barnes
Background Info
The United States has come a long way since the times of Prohibition, a time when alcohol consumption was banned. In recent times, however, the State of West Virginia seems to have brought Prohibition back in a light form. The bill HB4524, allows for the people of a local area to call for a vote to decide if off-site alcohol consumption should be banned in that area or not.
Who Sponsored the Bill?
The bill was sponsored by 9 people, Steve Westfall(R), Jason Barrett(R), Shawn Fluharty(D), Bill Hartman(D), Chris Phillips(R), Isaac Sponaugle(D), Brandon Steele(R) and Erikka Storch(R). Hence, the bill is bipartisan. The bill was passed on 4/15/2020.
What is the Bill’s Purpose?
The bill’s text states “A county or any municipality may in an election held especially for the purpose, determine whether the sale of alcoholic liquors for beverage purposes shall be permitted within that county or municipality”. In short, the bill would allow a county or municipality to decide if they want to ban the sale of alcohol or not. The bill goes on to stipulate that such a vote is not allowed to be held within 60 days of a general or municipal election.
How is the Vote Initiated?
A county or municipality can call for a vote by the filing of a petition signed by at least 5% of the qualified voters in that area. The petition must read the following:
Petition for Local Option Election
We, the undersigned legally qualified voters, resident within the county (municipality) of BLANK, do hereby petition that a special election be held within the county (city, town) of BLANK on the BLANK day of BLANK, 20 Blank, upon the following question: Shall the sale of alcoholic beverages under the West Virginia Alcohol Beverage Control Commissioner be (Permitted) (Prohibited) in BLANK?
Name Address Date
(Post office or street and number)
And that is what is required. Now what does this mean? Well, this template can be used for either banning alcohol in an area, or getting it unbanned, or as the template refers to it as prohibited and permitted. In short this is intended to give people an easy method to create their petition to get alcohol banned or unbanned in their county/municipality.
Announcement of an Election
The bill also states that the county commission or governing body of the municipality must give notice of this election by way of a Class II-0 legal advertisement. The area for the publication is naturally in the area that the election is to be held. This notice must be published within 14 consecutive days preceding the election.
How is the Election Held?
Additionally, the election itself must be started with 90 days but not before 60 days of the petition being filed. The election will be conducted in the same way as a normal election. The ballot for the election is to be as follows:
Shall the sale of alcoholic liquors for off-premises consumption under the West Virginia Alcohol Beverage Control Commissioner be permitted in BLANK?
Yes.
No.
(Place a cross mark in the square opposite your choice.)
Naturally, the results are then counted, and the results certified by the commissioners of the election or the governing body of municipality. The election results are then certified without delay by the county commissioner or governing body.
What this bill does and does not do
While this ballot may seem simple enough it brings up a important point that is not mentioned anywhere else in this bill, it states that this is for off-site consumption only, hence, alcohol is not entirely banned in the area, it is instead restricted.
30 days after the election if the people voted for alcoholic beverages to be prohibited, then the commissioner must order the closing of all stores selling alcoholic liquor for off-premises consumption in that area.
Regardless of if the vote pass or failed, another cannot be held for two years. This makes it difficult to quickly change the policies, after all, it would be quite the hassle if the allowance of alcohol was swapped every few weeks, this added rule prevents situations like that from happening.
Additionally, the as of July 1, 2020 authorized the sale of alcoholic liquors for off-premises consumption in all counties and municipalities. However, any that banned it prior to January 1, 2020, may hold an election to maintain the prohibition. This decision can later be changed by another election.
Have Any Counties/Municipalities Done This?
According to the West Virginia Alcohol Beverage Control Administration only two counties currently have prohibition. These counties are Preston (only the town of Brandonville) and the entirety of Calhoun county.
Hence, some counties have indeed banned the consumption of alcohol outside of the area it is purchased in.
What does this mean for residents of these areas?
Naturally, this means that it no longer legal to purchase alcohol for off-site consumption. If an individual in this area wants to drink alcohol, they will have to do it elsewhere. Alternatively, they could go through the process of getting another vote to remove this restriction. However, as mentioned above, a vote cannot be called until two years have passed since the last one. So, it will have to wait until sometime into 2022.
Recap/Conclusion
In short, this bill allows for the residents to have a greater say in their communities. It allows them to collectively decide to ban or allow the purchasing of alcohol for off-site consumption. Curranty, only two communities have elected to do so, but, it is possible that more will do so in the future. Regardless, this bill gives the people of West Virginia greater say in their communities, which is usually a welcome change.