(The Center Square)—Maine business groups are supporting a Republican proposal to lift one of the remaining vestiges of the state’s ‘blue laws’ by allowing retailers to open on Sundays and holidays.
The proposal, filed by state Rep. Josh Morris, R-Turner, would repeal a state law prohibiting some retailers from opening on Sundays, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter and other major holidays. The restrictions are a product of the state’s Puritan-era ‘blue laws,’ like banning the sale of alcohol on Sundays, most of which have been repealed.
Morris said lifting the restrictions would “even the playing field” by allowing businesses that are currently not allowed to operate on Sundays and during the holidays to keep their doors open. He pointed out that large retailers, like L.L. Bean, have been granted exemptions to state law, allowing them to stay open all year.
“One of the worst things that government does is pick winners and losers. This section of law is a great example of that,” Morris wrote in testimony to the Legislature’s Committee on Housing and Economic Development. “I believe that all businesses should be allowed to operate 365 days a year without government intervention.”
The law has a raft of exemptions, including for stores with fewer than five employees and stores with fewer than 5,000 square feet of interior selling space, as well as restaurants, convenience stores and boat shops.
Many retailers and business groups support the proposal to lift the Sunday and holiday restrictions. They argue that the law is unfair and discriminates against retailers without exemptions.
Harris Van Pate, policy analyst for the conservative Maine Policy Institute, said the government “should not dictate which days businesses can or cannot operate,” which instead “should be left to individual business owners based on market demand and consumer preference.”
“Maine’s restriction on Sunday business operations is an outdated remnant of ‘blue laws’ that were initially enacted to enforce religious observance,” he said in testimony supporting the measure. “While well-intended at the time, these laws no longer reflect the diverse, far more secular society that Maine has become.”
Curtis Picard, president and CEO of the Retail Association of Maine, said the proposal would “simply do what 47 other states do — which is let businesses decide for themselves when they can be open for business.”
“Maine would be well-served by doing what other states do,” he said in testimony. “Only Maine, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island essentially have these laws on the books. Texas and Colorado have a prohibition on liquor stores being open on Christmas.”
