After Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin signed a bill allowing counties to vote on whether restaurants could sell alcohol before 1 p.m. on Sundays, Kanawha County Commission President Kent Carper said that he would put the issue on the ballot as soon as he was legally able.
Now, he's not so sure.
In May, Shepherdstown was able to use home rule to start serving alcohol before 1 p.m. on Sundays. That got other home rule cities in West Virginia talking, including Charleston.
"To me, I don't know how we can't look at doing it," said Karan Ireland, a Charleston City councilwoman. "Especially after Shepherdstown has done it."
Passing an ordinance through home rule would allow restaurants in Charleston to start serving alcohol on Sunday mornings as early as Aug. 1. If the city waits for the county to vote, it would have to wait until November.
"I think there are a lot of us who don't think we should wait," Ireland said.
But Carper said that if Charleston is able to pass an ordinance through home rule, there may not be as much support for the bill in the rest of the county.
"The question is whether or not anyone else wants us to put it on the ballot if the City of Charleston goes through with that," Carper said.
Carper said that he has only heard from Charleston restaurants who support the bill.
"There's probably a handful of places that might be interested in it," Carper said.
Alisa Bailey, CEO of the Charleston Convention and Visitors Bureau, thinks that more cities than just Charleston are interested in the bill.
She said that she has been talking to mayors to try to rally support.
"It's more than just having a mimosa," Bailey said. "It really is about that we are perceived as a backwards state."
Bailey has been talking to home rule cities in particular to see if they are interested in using home rule instead of waiting for their county to vote.
Charleston isn't the only home rule city in Kanawha County. Dunbar, St. Albans, South Charleston and Nitro all have some form of home rule.
In order for a city to bypass the county vote, it would have to get permission from the Municipal Home Rule Board to enact an ordinance to allow restaurants to sell alcohol before 1 p.m. on Sundays, said Paul Ellis, Charleston's city attorney.
That process would begin Friday, when the city would have to take an ad out in the newspaper to inform the public that the city is considering an ordinance.
After a holding a public hearing about the issue, the city would submit its proposal to the Home Rule Board.
If the Home Rule Board approves the proposal at its July 11 meeting, then the city can create the ordinance. The ordinance still would need to be approved by the city council.
If a city misses the deadlines for the July 11 meeting, it wouldn't be able to pass an ordinance until November.
Carper has put an item on the agenda for Tuesday's County Commission meeting to discuss if there is a reason to put the order on the ballot.
"I hope all of Kanawha County can enjoy a mimosa on a Sunday," Ireland said. "But my concern is with Charleston."
Reach Daniel Desrochers at dan.desrochers@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-4886 or follow @drdesrochers on Twitter.