Revised ‘brunch bill,’ without sales at Georgia stores, back on track
After a false start last week, a bill that would allow Sunday morning alcohol sales at restaurants is back on track.
State senators reached a second compromise this week, this time one that Senate Majority Leader Bill Cowsert, R-Athens, said he won't block from proceeding.
The revised bill would bump the time for alcohol sales at privately owned restaurants from 12:30 p.m. to 11 a.m. on Sundays, but not at grocery stores. The version that passed last week, which Cowsert strongly opposed, also would have allowed early sales at stores.
“I don’t agree with it, but I won’t stop it from coming to a vote,” Cowsert said. He still voted against the measure this week in the Senate Regulated Industries Committee.
If it clears the General Assembly, locals would have to approve a referendum to make the time change.
The House passed similar legislation — dubbed the "better brunch bill" — in the past, but it stalled in the Senate.
State Sen. Renee Unterman, R-Buford, said she introduced Senate Bill 17 to put private businesses on a level playing field with the state-owned Georgia World Congress Center, which can serve alcohol at its facilities on Sunday mornings.
About the Author
Maya T. Prabhu covers the Georgia Senate and statewide issues as a government reporter for The AJC. Born in Queens, New York, and raised in northern Virginia, Maya attended Spelman College and then the University of Maryland for a master's degree. She writes about social issues, the criminal justice system and legislative politics.
