Section 3-4-91. Procedure for authorization of sale in counties and municipalities in which package sales lawful; procedure for nullifying prior approval and authorization of sales by the drink

   (a) In every county and municipality in which package sales of distilled spirits are lawful, sales of distilled spirits as provided in this article may be authorized after approval as provided in this Code section.

(b) (1) (A) In the event the governing authority of any municipality or county coming under the provisions of this Code section desires to exercise the powers authorized by Code Section 3-4-90, the governing authority, through the election superintendent, shall conduct a referendum election for the purpose of determining whether or not these powers shall be exercised. Any such governing authority shall notify the election superintendent of the county or the municipality, as the case may be, of the referendum, by forwarding to the superintendent a copy of a resolution of such governing authority calling for such a referendum election. Upon receipt of such resolution, it shall be the duty of such election superintendent to set a date and to issue the call for an election for the purpose of submitting the question of whether or not the governing authority of the county or municipality shall be authorized to issue licenses to sell distilled spirits for beverage purposes by the drink, such sales to be for consumption only on the premises. The superintendent shall set the date of the referendum election for not less than 30 nor more than 60 days after the call. The referendum may be held as a special referendum or may be held at the time of holding any other primary or election in such county or municipality, if such other primary or election is to be held not more than 60 days after the call. Notice of the call for the referendum shall be published by the superintendent in the legal organ of the county or, in the case of a municipality, in a newspaper of general circulation in the municipality. The election superintendent shall also cause the date and purpose of the referendum to be published in the official organ of the county or, in the case of a municipality, in a newspaper of general circulation in the municipality once a week for two weeks immediately preceding the date of the election. The ballot shall have printed thereon the following:
 
 
 

            "[  ] YES  Shall the governing authority of          be authorized to 
issue licenses to sell
             [  ] NO  distilled spirits for beverage purposes by the drink, 
such sales to be for consumption only on the premises?"

      (B) All persons desiring to vote in favor shall vote "Yes," and those persons opposed shall vote "No." If more than one-half of the votes cast on such question are in favor of issuing licenses to sell distilled spirits for beverage purposes by the drink, such sales to be for consumption only on the premises, then the governing authority shall, in accordance with this Code section, issue such licenses; otherwise, no license shall be issued. If held as a special election, it shall be the duty of the election superintendent to hold and conduct such election under the same rules that govern special elections as provided in Chapter 2 of Title 21, the "Georgia Election Code." It shall be his further duty to canvass the returns and declare and certify the results of the election to the Secretary of State. The expense for the election shall be borne by the county or the municipality conducting the election.

      (C) Following the expiration of one year after any election is held which results in the disapproval of sales as provided in this article, another election on this question shall be held if the governing authority, as provided in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, forwards a resolution to the election superintendent calling for such a referendum.

   (2) (A) In the event the governing authority of any municipality or county coming under the provisions of this Code section does not adopt a resolution directing the election superintendent to issue a call for the referendum provided for in paragraph (1) of this subsection, then, upon a written petition containing the signatures of 15 percent of the registered and qualified voters of any municipality or county coming within the provisions of this Code section being filed with the appropriate election superintendent, such election superintendent, upon validation of the petition, shall be required to call and hold a referendum election for the purpose of submitting to the qualified voters of the municipality or the county, as the case may be, the question of whether or not the governing authority shall be authorized to issue licenses to sell distilled spirits for beverage purposes by the drink, such sales to be for consumption only on the premises. A petition shall not be amended, supplemented, or returned after presentation to the appropriate authority. "Validation" shall, for the purposes of this Code section, be the procedure in which the election superintendent determines whether each signature on the petition is the name of a registered and qualified voter. For purposes of this Code section the required number of signatures of registered voters of a political subdivision shall be computed based on the number of voters qualified to vote at the general election immediately preceding the presentation of the petition. Actual signers of the petition shall be registered and qualified to vote in the referendum election sought by the petition. Upon determining that the petition contains a sufficient number of valid signatures, the election superintendent shall set the date of the referendum election for not less than 30 nor more than 60 days after the call. The referendum may be held as a special referendum election or may be held at the time of holding any other primary or election in such county or municipality, if such other primary or election is to be held not more than 60 days after the call. Notice of the call for the referendum shall be published by the superintendent in the legal organ of the county or, in the case of a municipality, in a newspaper of general circulation in the municipality. The election superintendent shall also cause the date and purpose of the referendum to be published in the official organ of the county or, in the case of a municipality, in a newspaper of general circulation in the municipality once a week for two weeks immediately preceding the date of the election. The ballot shall have printed thereon the following:
 
 
 

            "[  ] YES  Shall the governing authority of          be authorized to 
issue licenses to sell
             [  ] NO   distilled spirits for beverage purposes by the drink, 
such sales to be for consumption only on the premises?"

      (B) All persons desiring to vote in favor shall vote "Yes," and those persons opposed shall vote "No." If more than one-half of the votes cast on such question are in favor of issuing licenses to sell distilled spirits for beverage purposes by the drink, such sales to be for consumption only on the premises, then the governing authority shall, in accordance with this Code section, issue such licenses; otherwise, no license shall be issued. If conducted as a special election, it shall be the duty of the election superintendent to hold and conduct such election under the same rules that govern special elections as provided in Chapter 2 of Title 21, the "Georgia Election Code." It shall be his further duty to canvass the returns and declare and certify the results of the election to the Secretary of State. The expense for the election shall be borne by the county or the municipality conducting the election.

      (C) Following the expiration of two years after any election is held which results in the disapproval of sales as provided in this article, another election on this question shall be held if another petition, as provided in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, is filed with the appropriate election superintendent.

(c) In any municipality or county which has at any time held an election in accordance with subsection (b) of this Code section resulting in the majority of the votes being cast in favor of sales of distilled spirits by the drink, the election superintendent of the municipality or county, upon a petition signed by at least 15 percent of the registered, qualified voters of the municipality or county, shall proceed to call another election for the purpose of nullifying the previous election in the same manner as prescribed in subsection (b) of this Code section. No election shall be called or held within two years after the date of the declaration by the election superintendent of the results of the previous election held for the purposes of this Code section.

Ga. L. 1964, p. 771, § 1; Ga. L. 1969, p. 1140, §§ 1-4; Ga. L. 1972, p. 207, § 13; Ga. L. 1973, p. 610, § 1; Code 1933, § 5A-2902, enacted by Ga. L. 1980, p. 1573, § 1; Ga. L. 1982, p. 1463, §§ 4, 11; Ga. L. 1983, p. 3, § 4; Ga. L. 1983, p. 806, § 3; Ga. L. 1996, p. 830, § 2; Ga. L. 1998, p. 295, § 3.