INDIANAPOLIS -- The trade association that represents Indiana package liquor stores issued a statement in support of legalizing Sunday alcohol sales on Friday ahead of the next meeting of the Alcohol Code Revision Commission.
The Indiana Association of Beverage Retailers (IABR) has long been at the forefront of opposing moves to allow Sunday alcohol sales in Indiana.
In 2014, the organization's CEO, Patrick Tamm, accused efforts to change the law of being out-of-state “AstroTurfing” campaigns.
The following year, the organization nominally supported a bill that would have legalized Sunday alcohol sales – but only after the bill’s author, State Sen. Tom Dermody (R-LaPorte), added in strict new restrictions targeting drug and grocery stores.
At the time, Grant Monahan, chairman of the Indiana Retail Council, accused Dermody of “cluttering up the bill with the liquor stores’ wish lists.”
Those restrictions ultimately killed Dermody’s bill, although the 2015 effort did make it further through the state legislature than any previous attempt to lift the state’s 80-year-old ban on Sunday alcohol sales.
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In July, after another attempt to legalize Sunday alcohol sales authored by State Sen. Phil Boots (R-Crawfordsville) failed, the General Assembly established the Alcohol Code Revision Commission to examine the issue and develop recommendations for the state’s alcohol statutes.
The commission will meet for the fourth time on Oct. 10, with two more meetings scheduled for the remainder of 2017.
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Ahead of that meeting, the IABR released a statement Friday expressing its support for legislation to allow Sunday alcohol sales.
“The time has come for Sunday sales. We are eager to work together with legislators to successfully draft and pass meaningful and impactful public policy that will allow Hoosiers to purchase alcohol for carryout on Sundays for the first time since prohibition.
Alcohol is a dangerous product that can destroy lives, families, and communities. We need strong regulations on the sale of alcohol products that allow for access while ensuring that it does not get into the wrong hands.
As responsible retailers, we remain committed to exceeding the needs and expectations of our loyal customers while also promoting an atmosphere of safety for our team members and all who enter our stores that goes above and beyond simply what is required by the state. We owe this to the Indiana communities in which our stores reside. “
Sarah Stegmeyer, director of communications and advocacy for the IABR, said the organization doesn’t expect the alcohol commission to vote on new recommendations next month, but wanted to get their position on the issue out anyway.
“We wanted to put the release out so that all involved, including the public, know we support working towards a solution to get Sunday sales passed in 2018 – as we have since 2015,” Stegmeyer said.
Our Indianapolis This Week Insiders weighed in on the IABR's statement on Friday. Abdul-Hakim Shabazz had some thoughts, to say the least. Watch in the video player above.
Boots, the author of the latest Sunday alcohol sales bill, was not able to be reached for comment on whether he intended to reintroduce the bill in 2018.
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