Scott vetoes ‘liquor wall’ bill
Governor cites concerns of small business owners
TALLAHASSEE – Florida’s so-called “liquor wall” won’t be coming down after all.
Gov. Rick Scott vetoed a bill late Wednesday that would have removed a Prohibitionera law requiring liquor to be sold in separate stores from groceries and other retail items.
Twenty-nine other states have similar laws allowing spirits in the grocery aisles, but the bill gained stiff opposition from social conservatives concerned it would lead to increased alcohol consumption, alcoholism and underage drinking.
Yet it wasn’t those concerns that swayed Scott. It was the pleas of independent liquor store owners and workers that led to Scott’s veto.
“I have heard concerns as to how this bill could affect many small businesses across Florida,” Scott wrote in his veto letter. “Iwas a small business owner and many locally owned businesses have told me how this bill will impact their families and their ability to create jobs.”
Scott gave few clues in the lead-in to his decision.
“I’ve had family members that have had the challenge of alcoholism and it concerns me,” Scott told reporters Tuesday. “So as I review the bill, I take all those things into consideration.”
Knowing his father and brother battled alcoholism is something Scott acknowledged gave him pause over a bill that opponents said would lead to impulse buys and increased consumption of liquor.
Big box retailers like WalMart and Target pushed for the bill the past four years, but don’t appear to be giving up on the idea.
“There is a clear momentum in Florida for this common-sense approach to liquor sales,” said Michael Williams, spokesman for Floridians for Fair Business Practices, an advocacy group backed by Wal-Mart and Target. “We look forward to working with state leaders in the future to finally put an end to this outdated, Prohibition-era law.”
The bill was one of the most heavily lobbied pieces of legislation this year. Independent liquor stores and ABC Fine Wine & Spirits fought against it. Publix, which has gone to the expense of setting up liquor stores next door to their grocery stores, also opposed the bill.
Wal-Martand Target have 30 registered lobbyists combined, and Publix and ABC have seven. Michael Corcoran, brother to House Speaker Richard Corcoran, R-Land O’Lakes, is a WalMart lobbyist.
The bill only passed the House last month by one vote, 58-57, and five members didn’t vote. The vote in the Senate was 21-17.
The lobbying came after Wal-Mart, Target, Publix and ABC all gave generously to both major parties and elected officials during the 2016 campaign and in the lead-up to the legislative session.
Wal-Mart gave $50,000 to the Republican Party of Florida on March 6, the day before the start of the legislative session, and $7,500 to the Florida Democratic Party in September. It has also given $10,000 to Florida Roundtable, Corcoran’s political committee, and $204,000 to the Florida Senatorial Campaign Committee, led by Senate President Joe Negron, R-Stuart, since 2015. Scott’s political committee, Let’s Get to Work, has received $110,000 from WalMart since December 2015.
Publix gave $50,000 to Scott’s committee in January, and ABC gave $25,000 to the Florida Democratic Party during the 2016 campaign cycle.
Scott had separate teleconference meetings with Walmart’s U.S. president Greg Foran and ABC CEO Charles Bailes on Tuesday.
Scott’s office also received 969 phone calls, emails and letters supporting the bill, and 6,751 calls, emails and petitions opposing the measure as of Monday.
The bill wouldn’t have taken effect until next year, andwould have been phased in, allowing retailers that sell groceries would be allowed to sell spirits in 25 percent of their stores in Florida starting July 1, 2018, rising to half their stores in 2019 and 75 percent in 2020.
Gas stations with more than 10,000 square feet could have also offered liquor under the bill.