COLUMBIA - A Senate subcommittee quickly approved a House bill Tuesday that allows continued Sunday sales of beer and wine in stores in Georgetown County.

The measure affects Georgetown County and five other communities where existing sales were declared improper by a court ruling two years ago.

Stores were allowed to continue to sell beer and wine until their licenses expired last month. Most are continuing to sell under appeal.

Sen. Dick Elliott, D-North Myrtle Beach, fought off an attempt to add a controversial provision to the bill that he said could threaten its passage.

Sen. Robert Ford, D-Charleston, wanted to change the bill to allow county and city councils to adopt Sunday sales without a referendum.

Elliott said that could hold up the bill "for those communities and municipalities that currently have the hammer over their head."

The House passed the bill and probably would not reconsider it with the change, he said.

"Let's get this bill moving and move it on out," Elliott said.

Ford agreed not to add his amendment.

The bill as written will solve the problem for the six communities, said Gary Turner, the state Department of Revenue's legislative liaison.

Georgetown County and the other communities were allowed to have Sunday store sales after the Revenue Department ruled that was implied in their referendum to allow Sunday cocktail sales in restaurants.

Greenville complained and the court ruled that store sales had to be authorized by another referendum unless they were specifically mentioned in the restaurant sales vote.

The bill allows sales in the six areas affected by the ruling to continue without holding another referendum.

Horry County was not affected because its ballot included store sales.

Sunday cocktail sales in restaurants.