(The Center Square) – Lawmakers are expected to consider a slate of changes to liberalize North Carolina’s notoriously strict alcohol sales system when they return to Raleigh next week.
The legislation would allow local officials to decide on options to expand alcohol sales at state-operated Alcohol and Beverage Control stores to Sundays and holidays, and would allow for happy hours, alcohol deliveries, and pricing flexibilities in other venues.
Additional provisions in the 36-page bill would open up options for retailers to buy liquor at any ABC store in their county, allow ABC stores to sell gift cards, relax rules for alcohol sales on trains, and streamline the process for selling establishments that serve alcohol.
The changes, supplanted into Senate Bill 527 on elevator safety requirements, would reverse laws adopted in the 1980s designed to curb drunken driving. The bill was vetted for information only in the House Committee on Alcoholic Beverage Control last week, and is slated for further review by that committee and others.
Henderson County Republican Sen. Tim Moffitt, sponsor of SB527, has noted that many of the changes would require approval from local governing boards, allowing officials to tailor the rules to their communities. By law, liquor must be sold at government-operated ABC stores, which are closed on Sundays, as well as New Year’s, Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
SB527 would allow locals to open the stores on Sundays and all holidays except Thanksgiving and Christmas. Other significant changes would permit drink specials that are currently illegal, allowing businesses that serve alcohol to court patrons in ways they cannot. Profits and taxes from the ABC stores feed local government coffers, suggesting the changes could boost revenues in some municipalities.
Proponents including the North Carolina Retail Merchants Association testified last week that SB527 would help to modernize the state’s ABC system to better align with societal standards and customer demands.
Opponents of SB527 include Mark Creech, executive director of the Christian Action League of North Carolina, who urged lawmakers not to approve the “industry driven bill” he said could have a negative impacts on churches and fuel alcohol abuse.
North Carolina is among 17 states that control sales of distilled spirits through government agencies at the wholesale level, according to the National Alcohol Beverage Control Association.
A statewide survey of 610 residents conducted by Cygnal on behalf of the right-leaning John Locke Foundation in May found a plurality of 44.2% support privatization of the state’s ABC system, while 12.6% oppose.
SB527 is among more than a dozen bills introduced in the 2023 session aimed at reforming the state’s ABC system, nearly all of which have languished in committees with no movement.
