UPDATE: INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — An Indiana Senate committee overwhelmingly voted down legislation that would have allowed grocery stores, pharmacies and gas stations to sell cold beer.
The 9-1 vote against the measure Wednesday by the Senate Public Policy Committee all but dooms the effort during this year’s legislative session. Indiana is the only state that regulates the temperature at which beer is sold.
Grocery and convenience stores and pharmacies can sell cold wine and warm beer. But the sale of carryout cold beer is primarily limited to liquor stores, whose owners say expanded cold beer sales would force many out of business. Those supporting the change lampoon Indiana for being behind the times.
A House committee voted 12-1 earlier Wednesday to support lifting Indiana’s decades-old ban on Sunday carryout alcohol sales.
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INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – The push to lift Indiana’s decades-old ban on Sunday carryout alcohol sales has cleared another legislative hurdle.
The House Public Policy Committee voted 12-1 Wednesday to advance the bill to the full House. A Senate committee voted unanimously last week in favor of a similar bill allowing carryout alcohol sales between noon and 8 p.m. on Sundays.
RELATED: Sunday alcohol sales clear key Indiana Senate committee for first time
Similar proposals have stalled in recent years, but Republican legislative leaders say the time to act is now.
A Senate committee is scheduled to consider a bill Wednesday afternoon that would allow convenience and grocery stores and pharmacies to sell cold beer. Currently that is primarily limited to liquor stores, which are fighting against the change.
