6 States Updating Their Alcohol Laws
By Steve Holtz on May 02, 20171. Indiana
INDIANAPOLIS -- Convenience-store retailer Jay Ricker says he’ll stop selling cold beer by April 2018, but he’s not happy about it.
Indiana legislators closed the so-called cold-beer loophole in state laws on May 2, two months after Ricker’s convenience stores expanded its foodservice offer to the point they were eligible for liquor licenses as restaurants.
That didn’t sit well with state lawmakers, who made it a priority to close the loophole. Gov. Eric Holcomb signed the new bill this week even as he promised a review of alcohol-sales laws in the state.
“I sign this bill with the understanding we need to review and make common-sense changes to Indiana’s alcohol laws,” he said, according to a WTTV CBS4 report.
The bill mandates that 60% of all alcohol sales under a restaurant classification must be for on-site consumption, effectively taking Ricker’s out of the cold-beer game.
“While we believe this bill merited a veto, we are heartened by Gov. Holcomb’s statement that Indiana’s ridiculous and restrictive liquor laws need a common sense review,” Ricker said in a statement. “Throughout this year’s legislative session, Ricker’s has been targeted by anti-free market forces whose sole objective is to limit the choices of Hoosier consumers. We never stopped fighting them and their powerful interests, and with public sentiment clearly on our side, we will continue this fight back in our communities and into next year’s legislative session.”
Here are several other states considering updates to their alcohol-sales laws …
2. Kansas
Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback signed a bill into law April 18 allowing Kansas grocery and convenience stores to sell full-strength beer beginning in 2019.
Current law allows non-liquor stores to sell only cereal malt beverages that contain no more than 3.2% alcohol by weight. The new bill will allow grocery and convenience stores to sell beer with up to 6% alcohol.
3. Utah
On the heels of Kansas and other states moving away from 3.2 beer laws, officials in Utah say they may be forced to do the same, according to a Fox13 Salt Lake City news report.
“I think it would be very prudent for Utah legislators to come to session in January ready to figure out a solution," said Jessica Lucas, a lobbyist and spokeswoman for the group Uncork Kansas, which helped drive change in that state. "There is universal recognition within the industry that the way things have operated cannot continue that way."
"Utah's got to look at it seriously," said Jim Olsen, president of the Utah Beer Wholesalers Association, which represents beer distributors in the state.
Any changes to beer sales in Utah would have to be decided by the state legislature. Sen. Jerry Stevenson, who is tasked by the Senate GOP majority with shepherding liquor bills, said the earliest they could even look at the issue is 2018.
4. Florida
The walls separating Florida's supermarkets and big-box stores from their liquor-store annexes could soon be coming down, after state lawmakers approved a bill that would allow beer and wine retailers throughout the state to add liquor to their shelves.
Under Senate Bill 106, awaiting Gov. Rick Scott’s signature, the addition of hard alcohol to the shelves of retailers from big-box stores to convenience stores will occur in phases over the next five years. Stores still would be prohibited from selling liquor within 1,000 feet of schools and required to keep “mini” bottles stored behind the counter.
5. Tennessee
Tennessee Sen. Bill Ketron, above, is pushing for legislation that would allow wine to be sold on Sundays in grocery stores, according to a report in the University of Tennessee Daily Beacon. But liquor-store owners say the legislation may hurt their businesses.
Tennessee law prohibits the sale of all alcoholic beverages in grocery stores, gas stations and liquor stores from 11 p.m. on Saturday through 6 a.m. on Monday. The legislation Ketron is sponsoring, House Bill 078 and Senate Bill 0923, would remove the current restrictions and open up the sale of wine to match the hours that beer is sold, which vary by county.
6. Pennsylvania
The Pennsylvania House of Representatives on April 25 approved a four-bill package that would expand wine and liquor sales in the state. The legislation, now pending in the state Senate, would increase consumer choice and diminish the state's involvement in the sale of wine and liquor.
The bills come on the heels of last year's changes that allow wine in grocery stories, increased opportunities for the sale of beer in convenience stores and improved customer convenience.
The pending bills would:
- Allow all grocery stores the opportunity to obtain a permit to sell wine and allow retailers to buy their wine from private-sector wholesalers, brokers and makers of wine.
- Create and make available wine and spirit retail store licenses. This measure would let private entrepreneurs sell wine and liquor through a new class of state-awarded retail licenses designed to boost customer convenience and choices.
- Permit businesses with "restaurant" or "hotel" licenses already selling up to four bottles of wine to also be permitted to do the same with spirits.
- Divest the wholesale system for both wine and spirits.