Could Sunday booze sales boost Georgia’s economy?

With the recession hammering Georgia, backers of Sunday alcohol sales are making an economic argument to help them win votes for their cause.

They’ve already tried pointing to polls that show two-thirds or more of Georgians are open to Sunday sales. And they’ve tried selling their bill as a way to give local voters a say in the sale of alcohol.

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Now, in the middle of the worst economic downturn the state has seen in decades, they are touting the possibility that Sunday sales could bring in extra money to a cash-strapped state.

But in the third consecutive session of the Sunday sales debate, supporters may run headlong into the same roadblocks that have helped stop the bill in the past.

Next year, Georgians will pick a new governor and lieutenant governor, and the Christian right is vowing to make Sunday sales a Republican primary issue. One gubernatorial candidate, Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine, has already come out against Sunday sales, arguing that it goes against the Republican idea of “family values.”

And Gov. Sonny Perdue, a Christian conservative who doesn’t drink, has given no indication that he has changed his strong opposition to booze sales on Sunday.

Senate Regulated Industries Chairman David Shafer (R-Duluth) plans to hold a hearing Wednesday on legislation by Sen. Seth Harp (R-Midland) that would allow Sunday sales of alcoholic beverages. Stores could only sell beer, wine and liquor in communities if approved by local voters.

The measure is co-sponsored by Senate Rules Chairman Don Balfour (R-Snellville) and Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers (R-Woodstock).

A similar bill has been filed by House Regulated Industries Chairman Roger Williams (R-Dalton).

Alcoholic beverages can already be sold on Sunday in restaurants and bars in many parts of Georgia. In addition, lawmakers passed legislation last year allowing limousine services to sell alcoholic beverages to customers, including on Sunday.

The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States says Georgia is one of three states with a total Sunday ban on beer, wine and liquor sales at stores. The others are Connecticut and Indiana.

The bills are backed by the grocery and convenience store lobbies, who ought to have a lot of pull with the General Assembly since they feed lawmakers while they are at the Capitol in session.

They are opposed by religious groups such as the Christian Coalition of Georgia — who object to sales on the Christian holy day — and some liquor store owners who don’t want to have to open on Sundays.

Independent polls have generally shown support for the idea of letting local voters decide the issue. An Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll in January 2008 showed about two-thirds of respondents supported the idea.

A Web petition drive supporting Sunday sales garnered about 50,000 signatures last year, and backers also started a page on Facebook.

The groups at the Capitol pushing the bills have also beefed up their lobbying team with well-connected advocates. Two lobbyists close to House Speaker Glenn Richardson — Tony Simon and Sam Choate — have been hired to lobby for the change. A third lobbyist, Clint Austin, was essential to Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle’s defeat of Ralph Reed in the 2006 GOP primary.

With the state facing a $2.2 billion budget shortfall that seems to be getting worse by the day, Harp contends Sunday sales could mean millions of dollars in extra revenue for the state.

“We’re scratching dirt right now, we’re picking pennies out of the carpet” to fund government, Harp said.

The state takes in about $170 million a year in alcoholic beverage taxes. It’s unclear whether adding a day would increase overall sales or simply allow people who normally would buy on Saturday or Monday to purchase their alcohol on Sunday.

One group supporting Sunday sales has estimated it would mean nearly $5 million in extra revenue for the state. Other backers are reluctant to put a figure on the benefit because it would depend on how many areas approve Sunday sales.

Some communities that don’t allow Sunday sales at restaurants are also taking another look at the issue.

Snellville Mayor Jerry Oberholtzer said this week that he’s been approached by businesses concerned that the city’s Sunday ban is hurting them during the recession.

Harp’s Sunday store sales bill has been stuck in the Senate the past two years. But the lawmaker said he thinks Cagle, the Senate’s president, gave it a green light this year when he said he wouldn’t hold it up.

Sen. Doug Stoner (D-Smyrna), a member of the Senate Regulated Industries Committee, said it seems like more lawmakers are willing to consider voting for it than in the past.

“I’m not saying it’s guaranteed to pass,” Stoner said. “But we’ve talked about this issue for several years, we’ve heard both sides, and people have come to the conclusion that why shouldn’t we give local governments the same control of this issue we give them on all other issues involving alcohol.”

House Majority Leader Jerry Keen (R-St. Simons Island) told reporters recently that he thinks the measure will pass his chamber if it comes up for a vote.

Williams, the House sponsor, said, “There is such overwhelming sentiment from the people of Georgia that they want to vote on it.”

But Jim Beck, head of the state Christian Coalition, isn’t so sure.

Beck said he’s been encouraged that Harp has been willing to consider adding stronger penalties against stores that sell alcohol to minors. Beck also would like to see mandatory training programs at stores and more help for law enforcement to fight underage sales.

But in the end, many in the Christian right will continue to oppose the idea of selling alcoholic beverages at stores on Sunday.

“I think we have to oppose it based on the sanctity-of-the-Sabbath issue,” Beck said.

“What the other side has tried to do is make people of faith look like the enemy on this, make them look backward,” he said. “Even our membership is divided.”

But Beck said Sunday sales conflict “with the belief that Sunday is sacred.”

The Christian Coalition leader said the Sunday sales will be an issue on the group’s political scorecard next year.

With an eye on the Republican primary, Oxendine recently sent out a release chiding Cagle for saying he wouldn’t stand in the way of Sunday sales reaching the floor of the Senate for a vote.

Cagle doesn’t vote on bills. But he has influence over what gets to the floor for a vote.

He’s been seen as a roadblock on Sunday sales in the past, in part because of his connection to Richard Tucker, a Gwinnett County political backer and liquor store owner who opposes opening on Sundays.

Oxendine wrote, “Unlike certain elected officials, I will keep my promise on this important issue of safety and faith.”

Perdue may present a bigger problem. The governor would have to sign Sunday sales legislation, and he voiced his opposition to the idea when it was first raised at the start of the 2007 session.

Last year, he told reporters, “Six days is plenty” to allow liquor sales in Georgia. “We need a little relief on Sunday.”

The governor has also couched his opposition to Sunday sales at stores as a public safety issue. He cited a New Mexico study — widely circulated by opponents — suggesting it would bring more alcohol-related traffic fatalities. Advocates for the bill dispute the study.

Perdue has backed other legislation allowing for Sunday sales, such as in limousines and at Gwinnett County’s new baseball stadium. But he’s taken a firm stand against Sunday sales at convenience, grocery and liquor stores.

When asked about this year’s Sunday sales fight, Perdue spokesman Chris Schrimpf said, “The governor hasn’t changed his position.”