Dallas voters will finally have a chance to put an end to silly alcohol laws that have been around since the 1800's. Those of us living in Texas know all about "dry counties" and "wet counties", though most of the country has no idea what those terms mean. Essentially a dry county does not sell alcohol and a wet county does. Dallas is both a dry and wet county. Confusing, right?
Two propositions have made their way onto the November ballot to give Dallas citizens a chance to update laws that are antiquated at best. Current Dallas laws limit alcohol sales in the city to certain amounts sold and only in certain parts of the city. About 2.5 million people live in Dallas County. As it stands now, when you drive around Dallas looking for a place to buy beer, or wine, you can never be sure if you are in a part of the city that is allowed to sell. You may go to a restaurant and order a margarita with no problem, but if you go 2 blocks down the road, you'll need to register for a "club membership" card in order to be served alcohol. It's ridiculous.
Proposition 1 on the November Dallas ballot would allow beer and wine sales in grocery and convenience stores. Proposition 2 would end private-club rules so that restaurants would no longer need to register their customers in order to sell them alcohol. This means there will no longer be a need for these faux club memberships in order to get a beer with your taco. Instead, you can be treated like a responsible adult who lives in 2010 and not the 1800's.
The Keep Dollars in Dallas campaign is run by Dallas businessman Gary Huddleston. He says that giving all of Dallas the chance to sell beer and wine will help the city in its constant struggle to balance the budget. They city of Dallas estimates that $11 million additional tax dollars would be raised each year if Props 1 and 2 to expand alcohol sales are passed. Huddleston estimates up to $30 million tax dollars a year may be raised in Dallas, thus keeping layoffs at bay and in fact creating jobs in the city. He also points out that there are provisions in the new alcohol sales laws that keep sales certain distances away from schools, churches and hospitals.
Dallas recently passed the highest property tax increase in decades, raising business and homeowner's property tax rates by 6.5%. If the alcohol law had been passed already, the Dallas City Council would have had no reason to raise property taxes. Dallas Mayor Pro-Tem Dwaine Caraway thinks that we are rushing to pass a law that should be studied further. I tend to think that 1876 to 2010 is long enough to have "studied" the issue.
Dallas voters have a chance on November 2, 2010 to bring Dallas additional revenue and to even out the playing field for responsible club owners and their customers. Dallas, it's time to abolish these outdated laws.
Source: Author's opinion, dollarsindallas.com
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