TABC Dismisses Citizen Protests
By: Allison Morrison
Updated: September 2, 2009
An announcement from the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission could clear the way for beer and wine sales in Lubbock in the next few weeks.
In July, several residents filed protests against liquor sale permits.
They argued the May election didn't legally make all areas of Lubbock County wet.
TABC said then, it would temporarily stop issuing alcohol permits and licenses until a judge could decide the validity of the protests in a hearing.
But Wednesday, the agency says it is beyond its authority to determine local wet or dry status.
TABC goes on to say it will revise its current protest policy so that future protests can be dismissed more quickly.
"Certainly we've come to some conclusion that will result in us changing our policy so that it's more clear that we're not going to handle wet/dry certification issues like this through the protest process in the future," TABC's Carolyn Beck says.
TABC also makes it clear that although it is dismissing the citizen protests, the protestors can still file for an injunction to stop the agency from issuing permits until a court rules on the case.
