A BILL ALLOWING SALES OF LIQUOR
in grocery store aisles awaits a vote from the full House before going on to Gov. Rick Scott for a signature.
TALLAHASSEE — The wall between liquor and the rest of the grocery store is close to coming down.
On Thursday morning, the Florida Senate passed a bill allowing stores to sell liquor in grocerystore aisles by a narrow 21-17 vote.
The bill cleared its final House committee, 15-13, on Wednesday. The bill now awaits a vote from the full House before going on to Gov. Rick Scott for a signature.
Independent liquor stores and Publix lobbied against the bill, while big-box stores, such as Target and Wal-Mart, lobbied for it.
Publix was against the bill because it has already spent so much money under the current law to keep its liquor stores separate.
The bill’s sponsor, state Sen. Anitere Flores, R-Miami, called the current setup “an antiquated law that forced retailers to treat the sale of one type of alcohol, that would be beer and wine, different than another type of alcohol, that would be spirits.”
The current law goes back to immediately after the Prohibition era, as liquor was slowly eased back into society.
“That happened 80 years ago,” Flores said. “A lot has changed in 80 years.”
The bill does not require grocery stores to make the change and gives them five years to transition to liquor sales in the regular grocery aisles.
In defending the current law, state Sen. Frank Artiles, R-Miami, pointed to potential negative effects on independent liquor stores, saying the bill would “decimate small businesses, and unfortunately, a lot of Floridians will lose their jobs.”
Broad debate
Sen. Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, said the 1934 law doesn’t reflect “contemporary life” in which people can order home delivery of liquor through apps on their phones.
In asking lawmakers to reject the proposal, Sen. Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater, said “large corporate citizens want us to do it (approve the bill) for their own economic purposes.”
Latvala’s comment caused Sen. Tom Lee, R-Thonotosassa, to fire back — in a speech that ended with him dropping a live microphone on his desk — by saying, “We talk about who is pushing it, but we know who is pushing against it too, Sen. Latvala. We know who’s pushing against it real hard.”
Opponents argue the change will impact small liquor stores, eliminate jobs, result in a greater ability for minors to get liquor and lead to more impulse buying of alcohol.
Sen. Daphne Campbell, D-Miami, argued that she couldn’t support “a bill that is going to kill my own youngsters.”
“How can I do this, to come here and vote for a bill where children or the high-school students, going to the store when they have a break to eat lunch, and (they’re) going to buy alcohol,” Campbell said. And “while they’re driving back to school and they die or they get arrested for DUI.”
Bill’s details
The proposal would stagger the repeal of the law over several years; prohibit new package stores from being licensed within 1,000 feet of schools; and require that small bottles, 6.8 ounces or less, be displayed only behind the counter.
Also, the measure would require checkout clerks under the age of 18 to be supervised by someone 18 or older when alcohol is being purchased and prohibit the state from issuing liquor licenses to gas stations that are not linked with locations providing more than 10,000 square feet of retail space.