SABINE PARISH POLICE JURY
v.
COMMISSIONER OF ALCOHOL & TOBACCO CONTROL.
Sabine Manufacturing, Inc.
v.
Sabine Parish Police Jury & Sheriff Guffey Pattison.
Supreme Court of Louisiana.
*1245 Hon. Don M. Burkett, District Attorney, Counsel for Applicant.
Kelly, Townsend & Thomas, Donald G. Kelly, Natchitoches, Celia R. Cangelosi, Baton Rouge, Counsel for Respondent.
TRAYLOR, Justice.
We are asked to determine the effect on a local option election previously held by a ward in Sabine Parish after the parish has restructured itself on an election district basis. In this case, a portion of the ward, which previously voted to prohibit the sale of alcoholic beverages, has become a part of an election district which has never voted to prevent the sale of alcoholic beverages. Finding that the provisions of La. R.S. 26:583 dictate that the portion of the ward included in the election district must take on the sales characteristics of the election district, we affirm the decision of the court of appeal.
FACTS
The pertinent facts of this matter are stipulated by the parties. Pursuant to a local option election held in Ward 3 of Sabine Parish and subsequent ordinance by the Sabine Parish Police Jury ("Police Jury") on March 16, 1977, Ward 3 was voted "dry"[1] by local option election.[2] Subsequently thereto, Sabine Parish restructured itself from a system in which its governing authority was elected by wards into a system where the police jurors are elected by election districts. Election District 6 in Sabine Parish is comprised of a portion of Ward 3 and a portion of Ward 5. Ward 5 previously held a local option election and voted itself "wet." There has never been a local option election in Election District 6.
*1246 In 2003, Sabine Manufacturing, Inc. ("Sabine Manufacturing") sought to obtain state and local permits from the Commissioner of Alcohol and Tobacco Control, Department of Revenue, State of Louisiana ("Commissioner") and the Police Jury on behalf of two of its businesses, Toledo Town and Tackle and Mr. C's Café, in order "to sell, offer for sale, handle or distribute at retail, beverages of low and high alcoholic content, subject to state and local law."[3] The parties stipulate that both of Sabine Manufacturing's businesses are located in the part of Ward 3 which became Election District 6.
On January 15, 2003, the Police Jury passed Resolution # 5151 "to oppose any Alcoholic Beverage Licenses being issued in Ward 3 of Sabine Parish Louisiana."[4] The state issued a Class B permit to Toledo Town and Tackle on May 7, 2003, and a Class AR permit to Mr. C's Café on October 1, 2003. The Police Jury, acting through the sheriff, refused to issue local permits to either business. Moreover, on May 15, 2003, the Police Jury held a special meeting and passed Resolution # 5205, which directed the sheriff not to issue a local alcoholic beverage license on behalf of the Police Jury in any ward where a local option election had been held and the ward was voted "dry."
The Police Jury filed a petition in district court against the Commissioner, arguing that La. R.S. 26:81(B)(1)[5] and La. R.S. 26:273(A)(1)[6] prohibit the state from issuing a permit to sell alcohol in any subdivision of the state where the business has been prohibited by referendum vote pursuant to Title 26. Sabine Manufacturing filed two suits in district court against the Police Jury and the sheriff for denying the issuance of a local permit for each of its businesses, arguing that under the provisions of La. R.S. 26:583, the entirety of Election District 6 is "wet," and thus, the Police Jury and/or sheriff should have issued the local permits. The three cases were consolidated for trial, which was held on December 17, 2003.[7]
*1247 The testimony of one witness was adduced at trial, that of Ronald Busby, the secretary/treasurer of the Sabine Parish Police Jury since 1985. Mr. Busby testified that there are ten wards in Sabine Parish and nine election districts. There are also ten road districts with the same geographical boundaries as the ward lines. The wards are still used to collect road taxes and to hold stock law elections. In addition to road districts, there are three fire protection districts in Sabine Parish. One fire protection district encompasses Wards 1 and 2, another fire protection district encompasses Wards 3 and 4 and the other fire district encompasses Wards 5-10. Mr. Busby testified that the wards have never been abolished by an act of the Police Jury but admitted that the police jurors have been elected from the election districts, and not the wards, since the mid-1980's. He stated that none of the election districts comprising Sabine Parish had held local option elections. No other witness testified at trial. In addition to the stipulations and Mr. Busby's testimony, the parties presented several joint exhibits.
At the conclusion of the trial, the trial judge rendered a judgment in favor of the Commissioner and Sabine Manufacturing, relying upon the Second Circuit's reasoning and decision in King v. Caddo Parish Commission, 31,098 (La.App. 2 Cir.1998),
In a 2-1 decision, the appellate court affirmed the trial judge's ruling, relying on the reasoning in King.[8] This court granted a writ to determine the correctness of that decision.[9]
LAW AND ANALYSIS
At issue is the proper interpretation to be given La. R.S. 26:583, its relationship to other local option laws, and its application to the facts of these consolidated cases. Questions of law, such as the proper interpretation of a statute, are reviewed by this court under the de novo standard of review. Cleco Evangeline v. Louisiana Tax Com'n, 2001-2162 (La.4/3/02),
La. R.S. 26:582(A)(1) authorizes the governing authority of a ward, election district or incorporated municipality to hold a local option or referendum election once every two years upon the petition of at least 25 percent of the qualified voters "to determine whether or not the business of selling alcoholic beverages shall be conducted and licensed therein."[10] La. R.S. *1248 26:583 explains the effect on previous local option elections when political subdivisions have been merged, and provides:
§ 583. Effect of merger
A. When a portion of a ward, election district, or municipality is annexed or made a part of another ward, election district, municipality, or city-parish government, the portion annexed or made a part of shall take on the legal sales characteristics, as provided in this Chapter, of the ward, election district, municipality, or city-parish government to which it is annexed or made a part of.
B. The provisions of this Section shall be applicable to any election previously called under this Title or any other local option law and to any territory covered by such election which has subsequently been merged with another ward, election district, incorporated municipality, or portion thereof or whose boundary has been changed, it being the intention of this Chapter that the sale of beverages covered by this Title be permitted or prohibited only in an entire ward, election district, or incorporated municipality and not in any portion thereof.
C. Notwithstanding the provisions of Subsections A and B of this Section, any package house in existence and operating as such on August 15, 1995, in an area that is subsequently annexed into a ward, election district, municipality, or city-parish government that prohibits the sale of alcoholic beverages shall be allowed to continue operation and shall not be subject to the provisions of Subsections A and B of this Section.
The crux of the argument of the Police Jury and the sheriff is their contention that Ward 3 of Sabine Parish has not been abolished and continues to serve several political functions. Thus, in their argument, Ward 3 has not been "merged" with Election District 6 such that La. R.S. 26:583 should apply. They claim the court of appeal's decision in this case misinterprets La. R.S. 26:583, fails to accord the vote of the people its due weight, fails to accord the police jury's interpretation of its own ordinance any weight whatsoever and is contrary to the clear language of other sections of the local option law, specifically La. R.S. 26:81(B)(1) and 26:273(A)(1).
Moreover, they believe, as did the court of appeal's dissent and the dissent in King, that the word "another" in La. R.S. 26:583, when used to describe the merger of one political body into another, cannot be applied to dissimilar entities. In other words, they believe that a ward cannot be merged into "another" election district. They believe the situation described by the legislature in this statute must relate to similarly situated political entities, i.e. when a ward is merged into "another" ward, an election district is merged into "another" election district, a municipality is merged into "another" municipality, or a city-parish government is merged into "another" city-parish government.
Relying on Blanchard v. Gauthier,
Finally, the Police Jury and the sheriff contend that by keeping the portion of Ward 3 which became a part of Election District 6 a "dry" ward complies with the provisions of Subsection B of the statute, in that the entirety of Ward 3 would remain dry.
Sabine Manufacturing and the Commissioner interpret the statute at issue quite differently. They contend that Election District 6 was created by the merger of a portion of Ward 3 and Ward 5, with Election District 6 becoming the political unit from which the parish governing body is elected. They argue that whether Ward 3 continues to have some political function is not the issue, rather, the court should look to the fact that the governing authority of the parish is elected from the election district and not the ward. Since Election District 6 has never held a local option election, and therefore does not prohibit the sale of alcoholic beverages, the portion of Ward 3 which is now a part of the political entity from which the parochial officers are elected must take on the legal sales characteristics of the election district. Thus, they urge, Subsection A of La. R.S. 26:583 should be applied as written.
Sabine Manufacturing and the Commissioner contend that the cases upon which the Police Jury and sheriff rely were decided prior to 1997 amendments to the statute and to other local option laws which must be construed together. After the 1997 amendments, local option elections were authorized on an election district-wide basis. In addition, the prohibition in Subsection B was amended to include election districts. Thus, they argue, the legislature clearly meant that the prohibition or allowance of the sale of alcoholic beverages must be maintained for the entire election district where that political subdivision is the governing authority of the parish.
Sabine Manufacturing additionally argues that, linguistically, the term "another" in Subsection A has the equally accepted meaning of "some other." Thus, Ward 3 or a portion thereof can become a part of some other ward, some other election district, some other municipality or some other city-parish government. Sabine Manufacturing also contends that Ward 3 is no longer a "ward" as defined by the election code because the police jurors are no longer elected from wards but from election districts.
The Commissioner believes Subsection B clearly provides that the Section applies in spite of previous local option elections prior to merger and evinces the Legislature's intention to have either the sale or prohibition of alcoholic beverages be consistent within entire wards, election districts and incorporated municipalities. The Commissioner argues that certain parishes have not restructured themselves into election districts for the election of parochial officers. Since there are some parishes in which police jurors are still elected by wards, the Commissioner maintains that the Legislature of necessity had to retain the political unit of a "ward" in the local option laws.
Finally, the Commissioner argues that there is no violation of other local option laws in the decisions of the lower courts. These statutes must be read together and La. R.S. 26:583 provides the effect to be given to a referendum vote when there is a change in the boundaries for the election of parochial officers. Sabine Manufacturing and the Commissioner contend that the lower courts correctly applied the statute.
We turn to well-defined legal principles in our interpretation of the statute *1250 at issue. Legislation is the solemn expression of legislative will, and therefore, the interpretation of a law involves primarily the search for the legislature's intent and the reasons that prompted the legislature to enact the law. La. Civil Code art. 2; see Detillier v. Kenner Regional Medical Center, XXXX-XXXX p. 3 (La.7/6/04),
When a law is clear and unambiguous and its application does not lead to absurd consequences, the law shall be applied as written, and no further interpretation may be made in search of the intent of the legislature. La.Code Civ. art. 9; Detillier, XXXX-XXXX p. 4,
We start our analysis by noting that "the power to regulate traffic in alcoholic beverages is vested in the State and the legislature may delegate such power to political subdivisions of the State." State v. Sissons,
A brief history of our liquor laws since the repeal of Prohibition is pertinent to our analysis. Following the repeal of the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution by the 21st Amendment, the Louisiana legislature passed legislation permitting the business of selling and producing alcoholic beverages. See 1933 Acts No. 1, Extraordinary Session.[11] The state delegated to parishes and municipalities the authority to hold local option elections to allow the voters to decide whether to prohibit or permit such businesses within those political subdivisions. See 1933 Acts No. 2, Extraordinary Session. Pursuant to its power, the legislature changed this delegation of authority to different political subdivisions through the years. See ex. 1934 Acts No. 15 (parishes and municipalities were authorized to hold local option elections); 1935 Acts No. 17, First Extraordinary Session (parishes, wards and municipalities authorized to hold local option elections); 1948 Acts No. 372 (wards, incorporated villages, towns and cities authorized *1251 to hold local option elections); 1950 Acts No. 2, Extraordinary Session (ward, incorporated municipality authorized to hold local option elections; exercise of local option by parishes expressly prohibited); 1974 Acts, No. 41 (parishes, wards and incorporated municipalities authorized to hold local option elections); 1986 Acts, No. 958 and 1987 Acts, No. 696 (wards and incorporated municipalities authorized to hold local option elections); 1997 Acts Nos. 330, 765 (wards, election districts, incorporated municipalities authorized to hold local option elections).
Earlier cases interpreting the local option laws raised the issue of which entity could hold a local option election and whether the results of local option elections from certain political subdivisions continued to have validity when the legislature later recalled the power previously delegated to those political subdivisions. See Sissons, supra (parish-wide prohibition must fall after legislature prohibits parish authority); State v. Wright,
In Hughes v. Parish Council of Parish of East Baton Rouge,
*1252 The question was presented for the first time in this court in Blanchard v. Gauthier,
This court noted that, although it was impossible for the electors of the former ward to hold another election, the electors of the new ward, which now included the former "dry" territory, had the right under the local option law to have the issue of prohibition voted on by all of the electors in the new ward. Thus, it was not correct to say that the status existing in the former ward could not be changed by a vote of the people. A new vote could be taken, however, the electors entitled to vote on the new local option would include all of the electors residing in the new ward. Blanchard,
Had no further legislative action been taken, Blanchard would be controlling in the situation presently before us and Ward 3 would retain its "dry" status in spite of the inclusion of a portion of its boundaries within a "wet" Election District 6 until such time as another local option election was held. However, after Blanchard was decided, the legislature enacted La. R.S. 26:582.1,[13] the source of the present La. R.S. 26:583. Through this new statute, the legislature for the first time provided rules governing the effect of the merger of political units on previous local option laws. Rather than allowing the merged political *1253 subdivisions to retain their status previously decided upon through local option elections, the merged entity must take on the sales characteristics of the political unit with which it is merged in areas having a population of one hundred thousand or more, excepting the Parish of Ouachita. The intent of the legislature to legislatively overrule Blanchard, at least in those areas where the population is one hundred thousand or more, is clear in the provisions of Subsection B, which made the section applicable "... to any election previously called ...".
Due to the population limitation, the rules of former La. R.S. 26, 582.1 were held inapplicable to political units having a population of less than one hundred thousand. In Davis v. Caldwell Parish Police Jury,
After these cases were decided, the legislature removed the population restrictions from former La. R.S. 26:582.1. See 1982 Acts, No. 472. Thus, the effects of merger described in that Section were made applicable to all portions of the state. However, since so many parishes were being reapportioned into election districts at that time, other deficiencies in the statute began to emerge.
In Stephens v. Madison Parish Police Jury,
*1254 Although the Stephens court initially sought to supplement the statute's omission by finding a voting district equivalent to a ward for local option purposes, based on its reasoning that parochial officers were elected by the voting districts, the appellate court on rehearing found it unnecessary to reach that issue. Stephens,
Pursuant to the 1987 reenactment of Title 26, former La. R.S. 26:582.1 was redesignated as La. R.S. 26:583 and certain cosmetic changes were made to the statute, none of which are at issue here. In 1995, the legislature amended La. R.S. 26:583(A) to include election districts in the list of political units regarding merger. See 1995 Acts, No. 780.[15] Further legislative change was made in 1997. Pursuant to 1997 Acts, No. 330, the legislature amended La. R.S. 26:582 to authorize election districts to hold local option elections, in addition to wards and incorporated municipalities. In addition, the act amended La. R.S. 26:583 to add election districts to Subsection A to correct an omission in the 1995 legislation, and to Subsection B, to provide that an election district must either permit or prohibit the sale of alcoholic beverages in its entirety.
This was the state of the law when the Second Circuit was presented with the case of King v. Caddo Parish Commission, 31,098 (La.App. 2 Cir. 12/22/98),
After examining the legislative history of the local option law, King found that the 1997 legislation which included election districts as a political subdivision authorized to hold local option elections was done so
"in response to the fact that many parishes had restructured themselves by population. Some parishes, after restructuring, continued to elect either police jurors or parish commissioners in new structured wards. Others elected police jurors or parish commissioners in *1255 voting districts or election districts." King, 31,0989 p. 5,727 So.2d at 548 .
King noted that some of the parishes restructured themselves without formally abolishing the wards. King also took note of another provision of Act 330, an amendment to La. R.S. 26:581, which defined an "election district" within the local option laws as "a district from which a parochial officer is elected but ... does not include a district located entirely within an incorporated municipality." King, 31,098 p. 6,
King found that the inclusion of this definition of election district within the local option laws
retains the law's policy that, in recent decades, has allowed a political subdivision such as a ward and now, an election district, "from which a parochial officer [police juror] is elected" to vote wet or dry in a local option, "but does not include a district located entirely within an incorporated municipality" [in which case the wet or dry status of the municipality would control the election district, whether it be called by that name or called a ward], within the municipality. Id., 31,098 p. 6,727 So.2d at 548 (emphasis in original).
King concluded that when a parish has been restructured and an election district is the political unit from which a parochial officer is elected, then the controlling term in the local option law is election district, while in the case of a parish that continues to elect its governing bodies from wards, the controlling term in the local option law would be ward. King, 31,098 p. 7,
In the instant case, the appellate court relied upon the reasoning of King to find that the portion of Ward 3 currently comprising Election District 6 should permit the sale of alcoholic beverages. The Third Circuit extended King insofar as making explicit that there is no requirement that the ward, the former governing authority of the parish, should cease to exist for all purposes. The court below focused on the fact that the governing body of the parish is elected from election districts and no longer from wards. Thus, Election District 6 is the "parish governing authority" as stated in La. R.S. 26:582 for local option purposes. The Third Circuit held:
Despite Ward 3's continued existence for other purposes, it does not exist for the purpose of electing the parish's governing body. King and Stephens teach that it is not the abolishment of a particular ward for all purposes that is of importance in determining the wet or dry status of a previously "dry" political subdivision that is made part of a "wet" political subdivision. The central issue is whether the governing body of the parish is elected from the old political subdivision, that is "dry," or the new political subdivision, that is "wet." Since there has been no local option election in Election District 6 resulting in a prohibition of the sale of alcohol and police jurors in Sabine Parish are elected from Election Districts, Ward 3 takes on the characteristics of Election District 6 and is, therefore, "wet." Sabine Parish Police Jury, 2004-349 p. 5,879 So.2d at 352-353 .
We find the reasoning of the court of appeal to be correct. La. R.S. 26:583 must be read in conjunction with other local option laws, specifically La. R.S. *1256 26:581 and La. R.S. 26:582, all of which were amended by 1997 legislation. The changes in the language of these statutes are significant because "[w]here a new statute is worded differently from the preceding statute, the legislature is presumed to have intended to change the law." SWAT 24, XXXX-XXXX p. 17,
As a result of the 1997 legislation, La. R.S. 26:581(2) now defines an "election district" as the district from which a parochial officer is elected.[17] La. R.S. 26:582 now authorizes the governing authority of the designated political subdivisions to hold local option elections. We do not believe that the legislature intended for both wards and election districts to be operative for local option purposes when a parish contains both. In an area where the governing authority of a parish is no longer elected from wards but by election district, then the operative entity for local option purposes is the election district, even where the wards have not been formally abolished and may still exist for some purposes such as taxing. We believe that the term "ward" was retained in the statute for those parishes which may still elect their parochial officers by ward. Consequently, while we do not find La. R.S. 26:583 to be completely ambiguous, we do not find it to be a model of clarity. Had the legislature intended for both wards and election districts within the same parish to remain operative for local option purposes, it would have stated so explicitly.
This interpretation of La. R.S. 26:583(A) allows us to give effect to La. R.S. 26:583(B), as all parts of a statute must be given effect. Hollingsworth v. City of Minden, 2001-2658 p. 5 (La.6/21/02),
This interpretation of La. R.S. 26:583 does not conflict with other provisions of local option laws, specifically La. R.S. 26:81(B)(1) or La. R.S. 26:273(A)(1). The legislature unmistakably and explicitly stated its intention, i.e."... it being the intention of this Chapter ...," that the effect of merger described in La. R.S. 26:583 "shall be applicable to any election previously called...." Therefore, any denial *1257 of a permit based on a previous local option election must fall before the effects of merger provided in La. R.S. 26:583.
We find that the cases relied upon by the Police Jury and sheriff were all decided prior to the legislative amendments which are now operative. We hold that these legislative amendments were made pursuant to the state's power to regulate traffic in alcoholic beverages, which is not divested by delegation. Insofar as these cases conflict with the subsequent legislation discussed, we find they were legislatively overruled.
Our interpretation of the statute does not ignore the will of the people. The electors of Election District 6 may petition to hold a local option election pursuant to La. R.S. 26:582. Nor does this interpretation impermissibly ignore the Police Jury's interpretation of its own ordinances. A parish ordinance must fall when it conflicts with state law. Sissons,
Therefore, giving effect to the rule provided in Subsection A and giving effect to the legislature's intent expressed in Subsection B, we find pursuant to La. R.S. 26:583 that the portion of Ward 3 which is contained within Election District 6 takes on the sales characteristic of Election District 6. Since there has never been a local option election in Election District 6 prohibiting the sale of alcoholic beverages, we find that the entirety of Election District 6, including the portion of Ward 3 which was voted "dry" in a previous local option election, is deemed "wet" and must permit the sale of alcoholic beverages. The local option status of the entirety of Election District 6 may be changed only by a referendum election in Election District 6 called and conducted pursuant to the provisions of the local option laws, La. R.S. 26:581 et seq.
CONCLUSION
Based on the foregoing, we find that the provisions of La. R.S. 26:583 dictate that a ward, or a portion thereof, must take on the local option sales characteristics of the election district which it comprises after parish restructuring. The judgment of the court of appeal, which affirmed the decision of the trial court in favor of the Commissioner and Sabine Manufacturing, is affirmed.
AFFIRMED
KNOLL, J., dissents and assigns reasons.
WEIMER, J., dissents and assigns reasons.
VICTORY, J., dissents for the reasons assigned by Justice WEIMER.
KNOLL, Justice, dissenting.
With all due respect, I disagree with the majority's opinion finding the court of appeal correctly interpreted the provisions of La. R.S. 26:583.
Initially, I find it significant that Ward Three is still very much in existence as a political entity. There is no evidence that it was abolished. Rather, as the majority opinion acknowledged, testimony revealed Ward Three is still the basis for establishing and assessing taxes for road districts and fire protection districts as well as establishing boundaries for stock laws. Sabine Parish Police Jury v. Commissioner of Alcohol & Tobacco Control, 04-1833, p. 3-4 (La.), ___ So.2d ___,
In this light, I find the majority erred by not sufficiently analyzing La. R.S. *1258 26:583. La. R.S. 26:583 provides in Section A:
A. When a portion of a ward, election district, or municipality is annexed or made a part of another ward, election district, municipality, or city-parish government, the portion annexed or made a part of shall take on the legal sales characteristics, as provided in this Chapter, of the ward, election district, municipality, or city-parish government to which it is annexed or made a part of. (Emphasis added)
As noted in Judge Scofield's dissent, the key word in Section A is "another," which in this context means "an additional person or thing of the same type as already mentioned"[1] or "one ... of the same kind."[2] Given this meaning, it is evident the statute only applies when "a portion of a ward... is annexed and made part of another ward." Therefore, "[c]onsistent with this usage of the word, a portion of a ward could not be made a portion of `another' election district. A ward and an election district are dissimilar entities. When referring to a ward, the only entity that would be one of the same type as already mentioned or of the same kind would be another ward." Sabine, 04-78, p. 1 (Scofield, Judge Pro Tempore, dissenting);
This Court is mandated to give words of law their generally prevailing meaning, and we are bound by the language of the law. Allen v. State ex rel. Ernest N. Morial New Orleans Exhibition Hall Authority, 02-1072, p. 12 (La.4/9/03),
As aptly stated in Judge Scofield's dissent,
The election districts in question were created by a simple ordinance of the Sabine Parish Police Jury. The fact that the Police Jury may have been motivated by federal legislation to pass the ordinance, does not alter a whit that the election districts are creatures solely of the Police Jury. The one purpose of the Police Jury was to create districts from which members of the legislative arm of the Parish, the Police Jury, would be elected. In passing the ordinance, the Police Jury had no intention of altering judicial districts, school board districts, fire districts, road districts, certain taxing districts, et cetera. The Police Jury certainly had no intention of abolishing the wards in that parish, nor did the Police Jury intend to abolish or alter in any way the dry status of Ward Three. To the contrary, the Police Jury's keen intent to preserve the dry status of Ward Three could not be more clearly demonstrated than by the Police Jury's vigorous defense of the vote of the people *1259 of Ward Three in these very law suits.
Sabine, 04-78, p. 5;
Accordingly, I dissent and would reverse the court of appeal.
WEIMER, J., dissenting.
I respectfully dissent.
At issue is an evaluation of LSA-R.S. 26:583. We begin as we must with the words of the statute. Grant v. Grace, 03-2021, p. 5 (La.4/14/04),
Undeniably, the legislature granted the people of Ward 3 the right to vote to be dry. There is no language within LSA-R.S. 26:583 to indicate the statute was intended to abrogate that vote of the people. As the majority acknowledges, the statute is not a model of clarity. However, this court should not read into the statute a change in the vote of the people of Ward 3 merely because the parish now has election districts in addition to wards.
Simply stated, the ward did not merge into an election district. The ward continues to exist. A portion of a ward can merge with another ward, and a portion of an election district can merge with another election district. So long as the ward has not been abolished and retains legal efficacy, the decision by the people to be dry remains in force and effect. The wards of Sabine Parish did not merge to form election districts. The lines of the election district were simply drawn through the wards such that portions of the wards correspond to portions of the election districts. If there are both wards and election districts in a given parish, the legislative mandate that the exclusion of alcoholic beverages must exist in the entire legal entity is only accomplished if the wards and election districts have the same boundaries. Under the guise of resolving internal inconsistencies within the statute, the majority elevates election districts to a position of superiority over wards. There is no statutory basis for doing so. There is nothing in the statute that indicates if the parish adopts election districts, an election district will "trump" a ward if the ward, as here, remains a viable political subdivision.
Certainly, the state can abrogate prior elections which resulted in an area being dry. State v. Sissons,
NOTES
[1] When the electorate of a political entity votes to prohibit the sale of alcoholic beverages, that political entity is considered "dry;" similarly, when the electorate of a political entity votes to permit the sale of alcoholic beverages, the political entity is considered "wet."
[2] The proces verbal of the election, included in the record as an exhibit, shows that the election was actually held on March 12, 1977. See Vol. 1, p. 44.
Notes
[3] See Vol. 2, p. 2 and Vol. 3, p. 2.
[4] Vol. 1, p. 59.
[5] La. R.S. 26:81(B)(1) provides: "No permit shall be issued by the commissioner or by any municipality or parish to authorize any business in any subdivision of the state where the business has been prohibited by referendum vote."
[6] La. R.S. 26:273(A)(1) provides: "A. The commissioner shall not: (1) Issue a permit for the conduct of a business of dealing in beverages of low alcoholic content in any subdivision of the state wherein that business has been prohibited by a local option election held under the provisions of Chapter 3 of Title 26 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950."
[7] Prior to trial, the Commissioner filed exceptions of no right and no cause of action and lack of jurisdiction against the Police Jury, complaining that the court had jurisdiction to review its decision pursuant to La. R.S. 26:105 only if a permit had been withheld, revoked or suspended. The Commissioner argued that in this case, the state permit had been granted. The district court denied the Commissioner's exceptions but ordered that the Police Jury be allowed to amend its petition to clearly invoke the court's original jurisdiction. The appellate court denied a writ taken by the Commissioner on this issue. See Sabine Parish Police Jury v. Commissioner of Alcohol and Tobacco Control, No.
[8] Sabine Parish Police Jury v. Commissioner of Alcohol & Tobacco Control,
[9] Sabine Parish Police Jury v. Commissioner of Alcohol & Tobacco Control c/w Sabine Manufacturing, Inc. v. Sabine Parish Police Jury & Sheriff Guffey Pattison, XXXX-XXXX (La.11/19/04),
[10] A parish governing body cannot simply declare itself "dry." An ordinance prohibiting the sale of liquor, without the predicate local option election, is of no force or effect. Tolar v. State,
[11] Specifically, Act 1 of the Extraordinary Session of 1933 repealed Act 39 of 1921 which had prohibited the manufacture, sale, transportation, delivery, possession, advertisement, exportation and importation of alcoholic beverages.
[12] See Blanchard v. Gauthier,
[13] 1968 Acts No. 208 enacted La. R.S. 26:582.1 "relative to the effect of local option elections in wards and incorporated municipalities, or portions thereof, whose boundaries are changed or which have been merged with other wards, incorporated municipalities, or portions thereof," which provided as follows:
Section 582.1 Effect of merger
When a portion of a ward or municipality is annexed or made a part of another ward, municipality or city-parish government having a population of one hundred thousand or more, the portion annexed or made a part of shall take on the legal sales characteristics, as provided in this Chapter, of the ward, municipality or city-parish government to which it is annexed or made a part of; provided, however, that this section shall not apply to any ward, municipality, or city parish government, or any portion of any of these, located within the Parish of Ouachita.
Section 2. The provisions of R.S. 26:582.1 shall be applicable to any election previously called under Title 26 or any other local option law and to any territory covered by such election which has subsequently been merged with another ward, incorporated municipality or portion thereof or whose boundary has been changed, it being the intention of this act that the sale of beverages covered by chapter 26 be permitted or prohibited only in an entire ward or incorporated municipality and not in any portion thereof.
Section 3. If any section, subsection, subdivision, paragraph, sentence or clause of this act is held invalid or unconstitutional, such invalidity shall not affect any other section, subsection, subdivision, paragraph, sentence or clause of this act which can be given effect without the invalid provision, and to this end the provisions of this act are declared to be severable.
Section 4. All laws or part of laws in conflict herewith are hereby repealed.
[14] No writs were taken to review this decision.
[15] After the 1995 amendment, La. R.S. 26:583(A) provided: "When a portion of a ward, election district, or municipality is annexed or made a part of another ward, municipality or city-parish government, the portion annexed or made a part of shall take on the legal sales characteristics, as provided in this Chapter, of the ward, election district, municipality, or city-parish government to which it is annexed or made a part of." (Emphasis supplied).
[16] No writ was taken in King to review the decision.
[17] As previously stated, this does not include a district located entirely within an incorporated municipality. See La. R.S. 26:581(2).
[18] La. R.S. 26:582(B) provides that an election shall be separately called and held, and the results separately binding for each incorporated municipality and for the unincorporated balance of the ward or election district in which it is located.
[1] Sabine, 04-78, p. 1;
[2] Sabine, 04-78, p. 1;