Without unanimous vote by Flomaton Town Council, mayor says legislators will not push the bill forward
Flomaton Mayor Dewey Bondurant Jr., told council members Monday night that a proposal to allow Sunday alcohol sales in the town limits appears to be a dead issue with Escambia County's legislative delegation saying it will not introduce the local bill since the vote to allow Sunday sales was not unanimous by the town council.
On Aug. 13 the town council approved an ordinance on a 5-1 vote to asked the Legislative delegation to pass a local bill to allow for Sunday alcohol sales beginning at 10 a.m. Mayor Bondurant noted the town was losing a lot of revenue to just across the line in Century that sells alcohol on Sundays. Councilman Roger Adkinson cast the lone no vote.
Mayor Bondurant said he talked with State Rep. Alan Baker, who said the motion needed to be done as a resolution explaining why Flomaton would like to have the Sunday sales. Bondurant also told the council the only way Rep. Baker would consider moving the bill forward was if it was a unanimous vote by the council.
At its Sept. 12 meeting the council passed a resolution on a 5-1 vote, again asking the Legislative delegation to pass a local bill to allow the Sunday sales. Adkinson cast the lone no vote.
“I cannot sit here as a Christian and a deacon and vote to sell alcohol a block from our church,” Adkinson said during the Sept. 12 meeting. “I'm not going to vote for it.”
Escambia County's legislative delegation includes Rep. Baker, Rep. Mike Jones and Sen. Greg Albritton.
This past Monday night Bondurant said he and Adkinson have talked to Rep. Baker and he maintained that it was unlikely the bill would move forward without unanimous consent by the council.
“That's the most stupid thing I've ever heard,” said Councilman Buster Crapps. “It's ridiculous they won't go along with a 5-1 majority vote. It's disrespectful to us.”
Crapps said he has no disrespect toward Adkinson for voting no but said he felt the majority should rule. He noted in previous meetings he's voted against certain things but accepted the decision of the majority of the council.
Bondurant told the council Monday that Rep. Jones said under no circumstances would he move the bill forward without a unanimous vote of the council.
Rep. Baker said without a unanimous vote, it does throw a hurdle in the process once it gets to Montgomery.
However, he said in passing local legislation other delegations across the state follow the same process of wanting unanimous support on the local level. He said all members of the delegation have to sign off on the bill before it will move forward.
Such a bill would first be assigned to the Statewide Local Legislation Committee, which Rep. Baker chairs.
“If any members of the delegation don't sign off on the bill it becomes contested legislation and is usually derailed,” Baker said.
He said it's unlikely a local bill would ever come to the committee if all members of a respective delegation don't sign off on the bill.
Baker did say the delegation would give consideration to the resolution passed by the Flomaton Town Council, but could not speak on the feelings of the other members.
