Councilwoman: Why no draft beer?

FLORENCE -- Florence Councilwoman Angie Pickens wants to know why there's no draft beer in Florence.

City Attorney Bill Musgrove said the answer is simple: The city council has never asked the state Legislature to allow the sale of draft beer in the city.

Cities and counties in Alabama designated as wet must ask the state Legislature to pass a local bill to allow the sale of draft beer.

The reason is that state law limits the size container of beer to 16 ounces. Pickens said she's willing to move forward with allowing draft beer as soon as the special election for Alabama House District 1 is over.

The Republican primary between John Hargett and William Smith is Tuesday. The winner will face Democrat Tammy Irons on March 21.

That would give little time for the winner to introduce local legislation, as it must be advertised for four consecutive weeks.

Still, Pickens said it would be a start in the right direction.

Council member Sam Pendleton said he would vote for the request. Council member Hermon Graham said he'd have no reason to vote against it.

The other three council members, James Barnhart, Scott Carrier and Leland Howard, all said they wanted to hear a debate of the pros and cons on the issue and get feedback from constituents.

The state Legislature is considering a bill to ban the sale of kegs to everyone but restaurants and bars.

The Alabama Wholesale Beer Distributors is lobbying in favor of the bill. The organization says it realizes the importance of curbing underage drinking.

But opponents of the legislation say the distributors are looking out for their bottom line. Profit margins for distributors are higher for selling lower volumes of beer in cans and bottles.

Alabama is the only state that limits beer by volume.

Todd Twilley can be reached at 740-5728 or todd.twilley@timesdaily.com.