Ohio will allow liquor delivery, drinking at airport terminals
A new law allows Ohioans to have liquor delivered to their homes, but it could be awhile before that option is available.
House Bill 674, which took effect Monday, allows Ohio Division of Liquor Control vendors to deliver liquor in the original container. But the Liquor Control superintendent must create rules on how that will work, then vendors need to accept those new rules. That process could take several months.
Ohioans won’t need to wait as long on other changes. The new law also allows travelers to consume alcohol in more areas of Ohio’s airports – if the airports’ governing bodies approve the change.
Under the change, travelers can drink in terminals while awaiting a flight instead of being restricted to restaurants only. John Glenn Columbus International Airport began allowing it on Monday.
Another change allows charities, unions and employers to sell beer or wine at a special event if they get a permit from the Division of Liquor Control.
The new law also allows for the sale of mixed beverage “pods,” a combination of liquor and mixers used to create cocktails. These options will be regulated like other mixed drinks.
More hotly debated proposals – allowing alcohol sales until 4 a.m. on weekends or 24-hour sales if approved by voters – were stripped from the bill and never became law.
Many of the changes in the law, sponsored by Rep. Brett Hillyer, R-uhrichsville, and Rep. John Becker, R-union Township in Clermont County, were intended to help restaurants and bars hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions instituted to reduce novel coronavirus spread.
“This legislation is intended to create opportunities for establishments across the state of Ohio and to help keep their doors open in the wake of the impacts of COVID-19,” said Sen. Frank Hoagland, R-mingo Junction.
The pandemic has eased other liquor laws, allowing Ohioans to order to-go cocktails permanently and allowing bars to expand outdoor spaces through 2022.