Changes to Indiana Carryout Beer Sales May Come Soon

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana residents may be able to buy carryout alcohol in the very near future instead of this summer after a House of Representatives panel approved moving up the effective date of a bill that would overturn a ban on such sales, reported the Associated Press.

On Feb. 14, the House Public Policy Committee voted 9-1 to approve a change that would make the measure take effective immediately if it is signed into law by Gov. Eric Holcomb. Previously, it stated that the change would take place July 1.

"I can't really come up with anything why we wouldn't allow Hoosiers to do what we're going to allow them to do on July 1," said committee Chairman Ben Smaltz.

The state's House and Senate have both approved bills that would allow stores to sell carryout alcohol on Sunday between noon and 8 p.m., although neither has yet given final approval to either of the bills.

The Indiana Association of Beverage Retailers and the Indiana Retail Council previously opposed any change to the state's alcohol sales law, arguing that Sunday carrout sales would draw sales away from liquor stores on a heavy shopping today. Both agreed to support the addition of Sunday alcohol sales, provided that liquor stores remained the only retailer legally able to sell cold beer seven days a week, as CSNews Online previously reported.

The Sunday carryout sales bill has some opposition, according to the report. Lisa Hutcheson, director of the Indiana Coalition to Reduce Underage Drinking, called for additional safeguards that would prevent minors from obtaining alcohol to be put in place quicker. This includes mandatory training for sales clerks who sell alcohol; a requirement that anyone selling alcohol be at least 21 years old; and a requirement that stores keep all alcohol in a single designated area.

These provisions are part of separate legislation and would take effect in 2019 or 2020, Hutcheson said.