county Attorney Free&one County Fairfleld,Texas
Dear Sir: ,opinionBo. O-5487 Rei xmal option eleotim -- May an eleo~ion,to determinewhether or not the eale of beer that doee not containaloohol in 8x0886of 4% by weight ehallbe legalized, be held ln a justicepreolnct, inoorporateatown or city looatea within a dry county?
Your lettar,Uatd July 27, 1943,requestingan opinionconcemlng the above matter, reada in part as follower
"Citizensof a particularjusticeprecinctor tm or oity of my countyare interestedIn call- an election under Article 666,Seotlone32, 33, 35, 37, 38, 39 and 40, Vernon'eAnuotstedPenal Code, (LBamenfLed by 9. B. 117, Chapter325, page 509, Acts of the 48th Legielature,for the purposeof~detelmining whether6r not the eale of%eer that'aoes not containalooholIn em&e of four (45)per centumby weight',shall be legalIre in such polltioal eubaivislon. "FreeetoneCounty is a dry area, having prohibited the sale of 'beerthat does not containaloohol in exdese of four ,(4$)per oentumby weight'on Deoember21, 1940, by BP electioncalledfor that purpose.
*Question: Does 9. B. 117, Chapter325, page 509, Acte of the 48th Legislature,authorizean eleotionin a juatiae pmdnot or inOorp022eea turn or city located within the limitsof a dry oounty for the,purpoeeof aetemlnlng whether or not the sale of 'beerthat doee not containalcoholin exoeeaof four (4%)per centmu by weight' shall be legalize&? HonorableBowlen Bond, page 2 (0-5487)
ArtieleXVI, Section206, Conetltuticmof the State of Texasr
"In all counties,justice'8precinctsor incorporated towns or citieswherein the sale of intoxicatingliquors had been prohibitedby local option electionsheld un&er the laws of the State of Texas and in foroe at the time of the takingeffectof Section20, ArtioleXVX of the Consti- tdion of Texas, it shall continueto be unlawfulto manu- facture,sell, barter or exchangein any such county, justloe'aprecinctor incorporatedtown or city, any spirit- UWB) vinoua or malt liquorsor medicatedbitter8capableof produoingintoxication or any other lntoxicantewhatsoever, fbr beveragepurposes,unless and until a majorityof the qualifiedvoters in such countyor politicalsubdivision thereofvoting in an electionheld for such purposeshell determinesuch to be lawful;providedthat this subsection shallnot prohibitthe sale of alcoholiobeveragescontain- ing not more than 3.2 per cent alcoholby weight in cities, countiesor politicalsubdivlalonathereofin which the qw.llffedvotershave voted to legalizesuoh sale under the provisionsof Chapter 116,Acta of the RegularSessionof the 43-a Legislature."
In the ca8e of Houchinev. Plednos,110 S.W.2d 549, the Supreme Court of Texas held that where power is given by Constitutionana means by mamer ln which, ft is to be exerolaedis prescribed,such means which, '7:: ana wner is exIdti8ive.
~z OpinionNO. 0-2114,this aepartauentheld, among other things, shoula a oosnty as a whole vote for prohibitingthe sale of all alcoholic -xTeragee > %e '. ~zountywould be dry regardingall alooholicbeverages,ena the varfo~s pr-e>tictsWOUM have no authorityto call and hold any local option e1~324im a
L- the case of Wallingv. King, 67 S.W.2d 1074,Judge German, apeakingfor the SupremeCourt of Texas, saidl
'Prior to the adoptionof section20, article16, it haadhem the law of this state for many years that when a ccurrty,justice'sprecinct,or ot$er politicalsubdivision of a countyvoted to prohibitthe sale of intoxicating iiquors,it continuedto be unlawfulto sell such liquors within the prohibitedterritoryuntil the voters of the identicalterritorywhich had adoptedprohibitionvoted .torepeal it. In Ex Parte Pollard,51Tex. Cr. R. 488,