By Scott Wright

CEDAR BLUFF — The lead lawyer in the fight over alcohol in Cedar Bluff said last week a bill that could be days away from becoming law would eliminate his client's main argument for stopping beer and wine sales in the town.

“If that bill passes it will probably moot the whole question,” Birmingham attorney Eric Johnston told The Post on Thursday. Johnston represents William Geral Greene, who sued to stop alcohol sales in the town of 1,450 in 2005.

Unfortunately for alcohol proponents in Cedar Bluff – not to mention dozens of business owners in Shelby County – House Bill 175 appears to be unconstitutional, Johnston said.

HB175 repeals a 1984 law declaring that towns in Alabama must have a minimum of 7,000 residents to qualify for a wet-dry vote. The residency requirement in HB175 has been reduced to 1,000. The bill also changes the law regarding Sunday liquor sales in Shelby County.

Johnston said combining the two into one bill is a legal no-no in Alabama.

“The bill deals with two separate issues, which is forbidden by the Alabama constitution,” he said. “You can do that in Washington but you can't do it in Montgomery.”

Gov. Bob Riley cited the same legal reasoning last week when he vetoed HB175. The House has already voted to override the veto and the Senate could take up the issue as early as this week. A simple majority in both chambers is required to override the governor's veto.

The bill's author, Rep. James Martin, D-Clanton, said he's not worried about the constitutionality question.

“The only way that would come up is if someone like Mr. Johnston challenged the bill in court,” Martin told The Post Friday morning. “The bill deals with alcohol sales. That's one issue.”

Legal wrangling
Cedar Bluff received permission from the Alabama Legislature to hold a wet-dry vote in 2003. In August of that year, over 70 percent of 888 voters approved legalizing alcohol sales. But sales didn't begin until April 2005 because of legal challenges.

Then Johnston's client filed suit in December 2005. His lawsuit claimed that Alabama's constitution prevents a local law, such as the one allowing Cedar Bluff's referendum, from superseding a general law -- in this case the one setting 7,000 as the residency requirement for holding a wet-dry vote.

Local Circuit Judge David Rains tossed out Greene's action in February 2006, but the Alabama Supreme Court sent the case back to Rains to be adjudicated in April 2007. There has been little action since, as attorneys for both sides have gone back and forth trying to stall the case in the hope that the Legislature would provide a legal alternative to a fight to the finish.

To many, HB175 initially appeared to be that relief. But Johnston said the law's questionable legality could mean the fight still isn't over.

“These guys know what the rules are and they're only hurting themselves,” he said, referring to state legislators. “If Shelby County needed a bill they probably should have written their own separate bill, because I think this law faces certain death if it is ever challenged.”

Martin said that even though the bill technically clears the way for alcohol sales in towns the size of Cedar Bluff, officials there may have to get residents' permission once more, just to be safe.

“If they want to make sure there are no constitutional questions because of how the first vote was held, they're probably going to have to hold another referendum,” Martin said.

“That is a possibility,” said Bill Hawkins, attorney for Cedar Bluff. “But until the Senate acts on the veto, there's really nothing to discuss.”