Legislature Leaves Town Without Taking Up ABC Reform
The State Senate left town on June 9th with the Assembly finishing up their work on June 21st (after a two week break) without advancing broad reform of the alcoholic beverage control law. Both the Assembly and Senate passed bills to expand Sunday sales hours for beer at grocery stores and wine & spirits at liquor stores, but they did not pass our bill to allow on premises licensees to make purchases from liquor stores.
We found support from many legislators, but the resistance put forward on behalf of the state’s beer, wine, and liquor wholesalers was more than we could overcome in the short term. We’ve begun planning our work for the summer and fall so we can build on our momentum this year and position ourselves for a better outcome next year.