No Wine For Jefferson County

Staff Photo by Jeff Depew

Jefferson County will see no change in the items on the grocery store shelves due to Monday’s approval of Senate Bill 8037, popularly referred to as the wine in grocery stores bill. After years of debate and struggle, the State Senate concurred with the State House and passed legislation that will allow the sale of wine in grocery stores. The language of the Bill, however, leaves Jefferson County, as well 24 other counties that do not have retail or on premise alcoholic beverage sales, without the possibility of going to referendum. While 25 counties in the State of Tennessee are technically dry, 7 of those are considered semi dry because one or more municipality in the County has retail or on premise alcoholic beverage sale. Jefferson County is one of 18 counties that have never, in any part or municipality, approved by referendum the sale of alcoholic beverages. Language in Senate Bill 8037 requires that a county or municipality have gone to and approved in referendum the sale of retail or on premise alcoholic beverages before a petition can be brought before the County Commission requesting the issue be place on the ballot for vote. Those counties that are eligible to go to referendum can do so as early as November and, if approved, wine could hit the shelves on July 1, 2016. Of the five counties boarding Jefferson County, only Grainger County joins Jefferson County as being a dry county.