The Arkansas House of Representatives on Friday rejected one bill and passed another concerning local governing bodies having control over the issuance of private club permits by the Alcohol Beverage Control board.
House Bill 1792, which would allow local governing bodies to bar the Alcohol Beverage Control board from issuing private club permits, failed with 25 voting for, 30 voting against and one voting present.
Rep. John Payton, R-Wilburn, said he sponsored HB1792 after seeing two instances where the board granted permits even when local officials in his district unanimously opposed those.
"We have a five-member board which is totally ignoring the will of local governing bodies in dry territories," Payton said.
The bill would only affect dry territories, Payton said, and would not affect current permit holders or applicants.
The local city council would have jurisdiction to pass a resolution or ordinance instructing the Alcohol Beverage Control board not to issue any more permits within the city limits, Payton said.
A quorum court would be able to do the same to ban those permits for establishments not in the city limits, Payton said.
"I believe we have many dry territories that have welcomed these private club permits that would continue to welcome private club permits," Payton said. "If they take no action at all, nothing changes and the ABC continues to do as they're doing now and vet each application on its merit and grant those applications where they think it's just."
Rep. Charlie Collins, R-Fayetteville, questioned how the bill would affect restauranteurs looking to open an establishment not knowing how this law could be applied since it would be up to each individual local entity.
Payton said as long as a business had an application filed before the local governing body took action, it wouldn't affect that particular restaurant. He also noted that most dry territories "are not necessarily attractive to large chain restaurants."
Several representatives spoke for and against the bill.
"The uproar heard from my community…was loud and very clear," Rep. Mathew Pitsch, R-Fort Smith, said as he spoke against the bill. "They felt like what we did in 2013 is what worked and they are definitely opposed to this bill."
Rep. Josh Miller, R-Heber Springs, spoke in favor of the bill and said that "not to pass the bill is saying…I don't trust you" to local governing bodies.
The House did pass HB1834, sponsored by Rep. Chris Richey, D-Helena-West Helena, which allows wet territories to authorize the Alcohol Control Board to issue permits to restaurants with an ordinance instead of by referendum.
Richey said this bill "in some ways is the flip side of what [Payton] was trying to do for dry counties."
The bill would make it possible for small towns to avoid spending thousands to host an election to determine if restaurants could be granted those permits by the control board, Richey said.
The bill passed with 53 voting for, 14 voting against and two voting present, and will now head to the Senate.
Read Saturday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.
