MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY REGULATION OF MALT BEVERAGES

(a) An incorporated city or town by charter or ordinance may: (1) prohibit the sale of malt beverages in a residential area; and (2) regulate the sale of malt beverages and prescribe the hours when malt beverages may be sold, except the city or town may not permit the sale of malt beverages when the sale of malt beverages is prohibited by this code. (b) In a county that has only one incorporated city or town that has a majority of the population of the county, according to the most recent federal census, and where the city or town has shortened the hours of sale for malt beverages on Sundays by a valid charter amendment or ordinance before January 1, 1957, the commissioners court may enter an order prohibiting the sale of malt beverages on Sundays during the hours the sale of malt beverages is prohibited in the city or town. The order may apply to all or part of the area of the county located outside the city or town. The commissioners court may not adopt the order unless it first publishes notice for four consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county published in the county or a nearby county. (c) In exercising the authority granted by this section, the city, town, or county may distinguish between retailers selling malt beverages for on-premises consumption and retailers, brewers, or distributors who do not sell malt beverages for on-premises consumption.