Gerald C. Mann AEJSTKW aa. T-s ED 

Hon. 0. Kennedy 

County Attorney 

Bee County 

Beeville, Texas 

Dear Sir: 

Opinion No. 04658 

Re: Sufficiency of petition requesting local option election. 

This will acknowledge receipt of your letter of 

November 6, 1939, in which you seek the opinion of this 

Department on the question of whether or not a proposed 

local option petition, a copy of which is attached to your 

letter, is sufficient. 

You advise that Bee County Is *‘wet” and that the 

sale of all liquors, including beer and wine, is now legal 

and that an election is to be held to determine whether 

such county is to remain nwetN8. 

You further advise that the “dry forces in this 

county want to present to the commissioners’ court a petition to order a county-wide election to submit to the voters the question of whether or not the sale of all liquors 

should be prohibited.” We assume that such proposal contemplates the inclusion of beer, and it Is upon this assumption that this opfnion is based. 

A review of the definitions of llalcohollc beverage ‘I and 811iquorn contained in the Texas Liquor Control Act 

reveals the necessfty of limiting the opinion to the assumption just made. 

t*Alcoholic beverage” as defined by the Act “shall 

mean alcohol and any beverage containing more than one-half 

of one per cent of alcohol by volume which is capable of 

use for beverage purposes, either alone or when diluted.” 

“Liquor” as defined by the Act, “shall mean any 

alcoholic beverage containing alcohol in excess of four per 

centum by weight* unless otherwise indicated.. Proof that 

an alcoholfc beverage is alcohol spirits of wine, whiskey, 

liquor, wine brandy, gin, tequilia, mescal 

harreteago, shall be prima facie evidence i 

habernero or 

hat the same is 

liquor as herein defined.‘” 
Hon. 0. Kennedy, page 2 

. . . -. 

Thus, it Is clearly seen that alcoholic beverage 

includes liquor, beer, wine &d all other alcoholic drinks 

containing alcohol of more than 

volume. 

one-half of one per cent by 

The proposed petition reads: 

“LOCAL OPTION ELECTION PETITION 

“TO TRE HONORABLE COMMISSIONERSCOURT ’ OF 

BEE COUNTY, TEKAS: 

“We, the undersigned, constituting at least 

ten per cent (10%) of the qualified voters of 

Bee County, Texas, according to the vote for Governor of the State of Texas in the general election next preceding this petition, respectfully 

petition your honorable body to order an election 

in Bee County, Texas, at which election there 

shall be submitted te following question: 

“!For prohibiting the sale of eJl alcoholic 

liquors. V 

UIAgainst prohibiting the sale of all alcoholic liquors.’ 

Respectfully submitted,” 

A close examination of the Texas Liquor Control Act 

does not reveal a form to be used for the petition to the commissioners’ court. 

Section 32 of such Act provides in part: 

“The Commissioners Court of each county in 

the State upon its own motion may order an election to be held by the qualified voters in said 

county, to determine whether or not the sale of 

liquors shall be prohibited or legalized in such 

county, and such Court shall order a local option 

election whenever petitioned to do so by as many 

as ten (10) per cent of the qualified voters of 

said county, or of any justice precinct, city or 

town, taking the votes for Governor at the last 

preceding general election as the basis for determining the qualified voters in any such county, 

or political subdivision....@ 
. a,. 

Hon. 0. Kennedy, page 3 

Section 40 of the Act provides that the commissioners’ court may, as provided in Section 32, supra, order an 

election for the purpose of determining whether alcoholic beverages of various types may be legalized or prohibited. The 

second provision of Section 40 of the Act reads: 

“In areas where the sale of all alcoholic beverages has been legalized one or more of the following issues shall be submitted in any prohibitory 

election: I8 

Under such orovision there. appear several propositions that may 

be submitted, among which is sub-section (f) and reads: 

“‘For prohibiting the sale of all alcoholic 

beverages’ and ‘Against prohibiting the sale of 

all alcoholic beverages. 111 

Looking to the form of petition presented as hereinabove quoted, we believe the same to contain the requisites 

pointed out in Section 32, supra, with exception that the word 

“anI1 appearing in line 5 of the body of the petition should 

be changed to “art 

after read I(... 

and followed by “local option”, so as to hererespectfully petition your honorable body to 

order a local option election.. ..w We likewise believe the 

propositions to be submitted, bearing in mind the assumption 

upon which this opinion is based, should read: 

“For prohibiting the sale of all alcoholic 

beverages” and “Against prohibiting the sale of 

all alcoholic beverages. *‘ 

Trusting that we have satisfactorily answered your 

inquiry, we are 

APPROVED NOV 17, 1939 

/s/ Gerald C. Mann 

ATTORNEY GNNNRAL OF TEXAS 

Very truly yours 

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS 

BY /s/ Lloyd Armstrong 

Lloyd Armstrong. Assistant 

APPROVED: OPINION COMMITTNN 

BY: BWB, CHAIRMAN 

LA:AW:wb