18 Jan Indiana Statehouse Rejects Cold Beer Sales, Still Considering Sunday Sales
by Indiana On Tap editorial staff
Two issues concerning beer sales have been considered this week in the Indiana state legislature. Thought they are separate items and are being debated on an individual basis, they do seem to be linked, as all things are when it comes to politics.
Currently, Indiana law does not allow for cold beer sales in convenience, grocery, and drug stores. Only liquor stores are allowed to sell craft beer at a temperature normal for consumption. And it is going to remain that way for at least the next year. The bill to allow cold beer sales was rejected in the Senate Public Policy committee vote on Wednesday, January 17th. Because of this, the vote in a Senate committee is moot, as the bill cannot be put to a vote in the complete House, and cannot therefore be considered for passage by the legislature.
photo credit: Indiana Public Media
In the committee, the two sides of the issue were argued, with the convenience store lobby stating that 49 other states allow this and there is no reason not to do so in Indiana, while the liquor store lobby argued that gas and beer don’t mix and that Indiana should remain as the only state that separates the two. However, this was the first time the bill had ever even been given a hearing, so it can be seen as a step forward for the effort to extricate Indiana as the last remaining state to restrict who can sell cold beer.
On the opposite side of the coin, a bill to allow Sunday carry out alcohol sales in all venues (grocery, liquor stores, convenience, etc.) has topped two major hurdles in this year’s legislative session. On January 10th, the bill passed by a unanimous vote in the Senate committee, the place where this issue has gone to die in the past. Just one week later (January 17th), the House version of the bill passed in the special House Public Policy committee by a vote of 12-1.
The bill will now be considered in the full House and Senate, where it is expected to pass. If this does occur, a compromise bill between the two versions will be written and then, if passed, will go to the Governor’s desk. Just like we all learned on Schoolhouse Rock.
It appears that the two bills are in fact linked by the lobbying groups. The liquor store lobby reached a deal last fall with the big box stores that in exchange for support of Sunday sales, the box stores would oppose the cold beer sales bill. This seems to have been followed in other lobbies, with Sunday sales being used as a carrot to ensure the defeat of the cold beer sales bill. If the Sunday sales bill passes and is signed into law in this year, the give and take will not be available for exploitation in the next legislative session.
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