Sunday sales bill ‘is really local option legislation’

Q: How long have you been pushing “Sunday Sales” legislation?

A: Starting about five years ago. A lot of people refer to this as “Sunday Sales” legislation. It is really local option legislation. It would let local communities decide whether to allow “off premise” sales on Sunday.

Q: Define off premise.

A: “On premise” is like at a ball game, at a bar, at a restaurant, whereas “off premise” is where you buy it at a grocery store or convenience store and don’t consume it [there].

Q: Why can you buy alcohol at a bar or restaurant on Sunday and not, say, at Publix?

A: The prohibition for “on premise” sales was lifted 15 years ago when the Olympics were coming to Georgia. With all of these people coming, the Legislature said maybe restaurants should have that right to sell alcohol.

Q: So the current legislation would allow the people to vote on “off premise” sales on Sunday?

A: Alcohol is locally controlled. Should the legislation pass, the governing authority — the city council or county commission — would first have to vote whether to put the issue on the ballot. Should they decide to, the majority of voters would have to approve it. And only then could sales occur.

Q: If alcohol is locally controlled, why do you need the Legislature to pass anything?

A: There is a state ban on allowing “off premise” sales on Sunday. In order for the local communities to decide, that ban has to be lifted.

Q: So voters weigh in jurisdiction by jurisdiction?

A: Yes. A city could allow sales and a county could not. We do that currently for the “on premise.” In the city of Covington, you can go to a restaurant and order a drink, but in Newton County you cannot because it has never even been voted on it.

Q: Do you have a sense of how many jurisdictions we are talking about?

A: Not really. Obviously, we have 159 counties. We still have counties in Georgia that are totally dry, that don’t allow any alcohol sales.

Q: Do you know how much the current ban is costing retailers?

A: We have never thrown a lot of numbers out there. We are surrounded by states that allow these sales. Georgia really has three large cities that see business go across the borders every weekend — Savannah, Columbus and Augusta.

Q: Previous legislation never even made it out of committee. Why?

A: Certainly the threat of a veto would cause any legislator to pause and say, “Why go through the effort if it is going to be dead on arrival when it goes to the governor’s desk?”

Q: What about other opposition?

A: Historically, there have been some religious groups that have expressed opposition.

Q: Why did liquor stores oppose it?

A: I have read that they said they didn’t want to open on Sunday — that they felt they wouldn’t get any incremental sale; however, they recently testified at a Senate hearing this session that they wouldn’t oppose it as currently written.

Q: So you feel pretty good this time around?

A: Every poll that I have ever seen has said that a majority of Georgians would like the opportunity to vote on this issue. We have a new governor. I like his quote: “I don’t drink but I believe in democracy.” I think that sets the tone for how we should look at this legislation.

Q: Won’t this lead to more alcohol abuse?

A: This is not an issue in the current bill because no sales occur with its passage. If someone wants to purchase alcohol on a Sunday in Georgia, they already can, but they must drive to a bar/restaurant and consume on premise.

The Sunday conversation is edited for length and clarity. Writer Ann Hardie can be reached by e-mail at ann.hardie@ymail.com.