SC: ‘You’d lose everything’ if York County voters reject 2018 alcohol proposal
By David Thackham
July 25, 2017
YORK COUNTY – York County voters may need to show up at the ballot box next fall if they want to continue buying beer and wine on Sunday.
York County Chamber of Commerce is working with York County Council to place an alcohol sales referendum on the ballot for the next general election in November 2018.
Voters widely voted in favor of beer/wine retail sales in 2012, and approved a similar measure for restaurants and bars in 2008.
But a ruling by South Carolina’s attorney general has thrown the future of York County’s Sunday alcohol sales into doubt, according to the county chamber.
Unless actions are taken by state legislators or York County Council, referendum organizers say, the retail sale of beer and wine on Sunday in York County would cease by June 30, 2018.
“If it were to fail, we’d lose everything,” said Chet Miller, who spoke at Monday’s council meeting in York. “We’d lose everything for four years, and wouldn’t be able to have any of those Sunday sales in York County.”
At issue is a decision made by state Attorney General Alan Wilson, who ruled in the case of a S.C. municipality, that recently-approved off-premise sales referendums were invalid, the chamber said.
Effectively, the ordinance that local voters agreed to for retail sales is now deemed invalid because the county did not vote to approve restaurant sales prior to 1993, Miller said.
S.C. legislators could step in to tinker with Title 61, which governs the state’s alcohol laws, but Miller said that’s unlikely.
The more likely option — which would allow York County voters to take care of the issue themselves —is to put the question back on the ballot. York County Council passed the first reading of the proposal at Monday’s meeting, and will likely take up the second reading at its next meeting Aug. 21.
“The essence of this is that it could have an effect on businesses continuing to do what they’ve had the right to do,” said Rob Youngblood, president of the York County Regional Chamber of Commerce.
The ordinance will need to pass three public readings, as well as a public hearing period this fall, before it can be added to the ballot.
The measure will affect retail sales and restaurant service, which means the outcome of the vote would affect both, Youngblood said. For example, if the vote were to fail in November 2018, a customer could no longer order a tequila at their favorite Mexican restaurant on Sundays.
If the council allows the referendum to reach the ballot, the Department of Revenue will extend the cease date from June 30 to Nov. 6, 2018, to allow for the vote.
“This is the safe way to do it,” Miller said. “And if in the event that legislators get involved, we can yank it off the ballot. But if we were not to do anything, the retail and restaurant sales all go away on Sundays in York County.”
Sixty-three percent of York County voters approved the 2008 measure to allow restaurants and bars to serve alcohol on Sundays, which helped local hotspots compete with Charlotte. Sundays are often considered the third-highest revenue day of the week behind Fridays and Saturdays.
The 2012 referendum on retail sales passed by the same 2-to-1 margin.