LaPorte legislator disappointed by Sunday take-home alcohol sales defeat

The House Public Policy Committee voted 8-5 Wednesday not to advance House Bill 1399 to the full chamber, dooming the measure for the year and for Dermody's Statehouse career. The 10-year lawmaker is not seeking re-election in November.

"Hoosiers lost," Dermody said. "This bill just said, 'Hey, Hoosiers want to do something on day seven that they already do six days a week,' and unfortunately they lost."

The issue does not appear to be general opposition to the retail sale of alcohol on Sundays, since the same committee voted 11-1 Thursday for House Bill 1274 permitting Sunday take-home sales from artisan distilleries.

Indiana breweries, wineries, restaurants, bars and sports venues also already can sell alcohol on Sundays.

Dermody said he believes the hang-up on legalizing Sunday sales is a fight between package liquor stores, which don't want to open Sundays, and grocery, drug and convenience stores, which already are open Sundays.

He hoped setting up his legislation as basically a straight up-or-down vote on Sunday sales might minimize those competing voices.

But, to his chagrin, it did not.

"I think the package liquor store relationships with legislators have a strong effect when they come down here and consider voting on alcohol-related issues," Dermody said.

House Speaker Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, who favors Sunday sales, said he sees the fight as a question of market share for alcohol where "every small turn of a dial changes something."

He suggested it may be time for the General Assembly to take on a holistic rewrite of Indiana's alcohol statutes, which have been compiled since 1933 with little regard for logical consistency.

"Our laws are a hodge-podge of pressing singular issues, generally, over the last 80 years since Prohibition," Bosma said. "I don't know that anyone would rewrite the Code from scratch the way it looks right now."

The Indiana Association of Beverage Retailers, which represents package liquor stores at the Statehouse, cheered defeat of the Sunday sales proposal.

Patrick Tamm, the association's president, said Sunday sales only should be allowed as part of a comprehensive regulatory scheme mandating all alcohol retailers limit alcohol access and displays, as package liquor stores are required to do.

"We thank the committee for acknowledging that alcohol is not milk or candy and for ultimately upholding Indiana's regulations on alcohol," Tamm said.

A 2014 study by the Indiana Retail Council, which advocates for Sunday sales, projects the state is losing up to $10 million a year in sales tax collections because Hoosiers who travel across state lines to buy alcohol on Sundays are likely shopping for other products as well.

However, the nonpartisan Indiana Legislative Services Agency estimates Indiana would not collect significant additional tax revenue by legalizing Sunday sales, since most retail alcohol sales on Sundays would be current sales shifted from other days of the week.