After the referendum, state officials said they could not process applications for alcoholic beverage permits from businesses in unincorporated areas of Knox County due to a provision in Tennessee law prohibiting sales of liquor by the drink in any county district of which sections had been annexed by a city, a provision that was interpreted to apply to all of unincorporated Knox County. Special legislation, applying only to Knox County, was enacted by the Tennessee General Assembly in 2009 to amend state statutes to allow liquor-by-the-drink sales throughout the county.
Following the referendum, state officials stated they could not process applications for alcoholic beverage permits from businesses in unincorporated areas of Knox County due to a provision in Tennessee law prohibiting sales of liquor by the drink in any county district where sections had been annexed by a city, a provision that was interpreted to apply to all of unincorporated Knox County. Special legislation, specific to Knox County, was enacted by the Tennessee General Assembly in 2009 to amend state statutes to permit liquor-by-the-drink sales throughout the county.