Chilton County residents will have the option to vote “yes” or “no” on a wet/dry referendum in 2016.

House Bill 647 was passed during the 2015 Alabama Legislation Session, and sponsored by Rep. Jimmy Martin.

“It was passed and officially signed by Gov. Robert Bentley,” Martin said on Monday.

The Chilton County Commission voted in March to allow residents to vote on a wet/dry referendum during the November 2016 General Election with all of the proceeds from the alcohol sales going to the county road department for roads and bridges.

Currently, three municipalities in Chilton County sell alcoholic beverages, with the local governments of Jemison, Thorsby and Clanton seeing increases in revenue because of associated taxes.

A ruling earlier this year by the Alabama Supreme Court struck down a state law from 2009 that allowed municipalities of a certain size to hold referendums on the sale of alcoholic beverages even if they were located inside a county that did not allow such sales.

Jemison and Thorsby voters approved alcohol sales in separate elections in 2010, based on the 2009 law.

Martin sponsored bills that allowed Jemison and Thorsby to continue alcohol sales, and the bills were passed by the Alabama Legislature and signed into law by Bentley on March 12.

According to abcboard.alabama.gov, Chilton County is one of 25 counties out of 67 in Alabama that is still dry.

Martin said there was clarification made to House Bill 647 that municipalities in the county who are already selling alcohol would be excluded from the vote.

For example, a resident living in the city limits of Jemison would not be allowed to vote “yes” or “no” due to the city of Jemison already selling alcohol.

According to the bill, the question will appear on the ballot as: “Do you favor the legal sale and distribution of alcoholic beverages within Chilton County on any day except Sunday?”

County residents will have the option to either select “yes” or “no” on the ballot.

Commission Chairman Allen Caton said on Monday that the referendum is giving residents of Chilton County the opportunity to decide if they would like to create additional revenue to support roads and bridges in the county.

“I do think it is important that we take advantage of the additional revenue this could generate,” Caton said.