Tag Archives: Sunday Sales

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Democratic Visions on Minnesota Liquor Law

Mary Stanik: Minnesota Liquor Law

Author, Democratic Visions commentator, and Minnpost contributor Mary Stanik gives her thoughts on the failure of a 2014 Minnesota legislative bill that would have permitted Sunday liquor store sales.

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Legislative Events, Newsfeed

Senate Tax Committee stripped Sunday growler sales from liquor omnibus

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Senator Rod Skoe (DFL) District 02
Senator Rod Skoe (DFL) District 02

The Senate Tax Committee met this morning to finally hear the liquor omnibus. Unfortunately, the result was as expected. The Senate Tax Committee stripped Sunday growler sales from liquor omnibus after getting getting enough voice votes to do so.

What do Sunday growler sales have to with taxes?

It seems Chairman Skoe is opposed to Sunday growler sales because he feels Sunday growler sales could eventually impact some of property taxes that might be supplemented by municipal liquor stores.

Chairman Skoe’s argument against Sunday growlers is shaky at best. It sounds a bit like the old slippery slope fallacy. Sunday growlers would not mean Sunday liquor sales for other retailers, municipal or otherwise.

“Sunday sales is Sunday sales,” Skoe said. “They were going to do an incremental approach. This is the first step, and next year they’ll be looking at six packs; and then they’ll want cases, and pretty soon they’ll go beyond.”
MPR – May 5, 2014

Now what?

With well funded special interests like the Teamsters Joint Council 32 & MN Licensed Beverage Assoc. moving to have even the small Sunday provisions killed it has never been more important to call your legislators and tell them you support a full repeal of the ban on Sunday liquor sales. Find Your Legislators.

Floor Amendments

Over 4,000 Minnesotans have sent an email to their legislators through SundaySalesMN.org.  A full repeal of Sunday liquor sales is gaining traction and many legislators are listening to the latest polls.  It is almost guaranteed that there will be floor amendments for full repeal on the House & Senate floor. If you want Sunday liquor sales passed you need to CALL YOUR LEGISLATORS!

Elections

Legislators should be expected to carry out the will of Minnesotans and repeal the ban Sunday liquor sales. Expect a full scorecard on how your elected officials voted on Sunday sales that you can take with you to the voting booth this coming November.

Legislative Events, Newsfeed

Several Sunday liquor sales bills introduced as committee deadline approaches

Late last week Senator Roger Reinert (D) and House Deputy Minority Leader Jenifer Loon (R) held a press conference to introduce several bills to repeal Minnesota’s Sunday off-sale liquor prohibition.

The proposed Sunday liquor sales bills cover a wide range of options. The bills are designed to give legislators some form of Sunday prohibition repeal legislation they are comfortable with. It is 2014, it is time some form of action is taken to stop sending Minnesota money over state lines.

The most entertaining bill is the one that would restrict the sale of liquor on Saturdays. If 7 days a week are bad, and 6 days are better, 5 days must be great. Right? Right!

full spectrum of Sunday liquor prohibition repeal

One bill that seems to be getting a lot of traction is a Rep Sarah Anderson’s (R) bill to allow taprooms to sell growlers on Sundays. While grolwer sales on Sundays would be a great benefit to some taprooms, it wouldn’t help any of the off-sale retailers, nor would it help consumers that don’t live near a taproom. That is, if their local taproom would even choose to be open. It is all about having that choice, isn’t it?

The question still remains if any of the Sunday sales bills will get heard in the House Commerce Committee at all. We met with House Commerce Chairman Rep. Atkins (D) last week and would not assure any hearings. If you want a Sunday liquor sales to get a hearing NOW is the time to contact your reps and ask them to make sure it gets a fair shot. The deadline to get heard in committee is fast approaching 3/21. We know that polls show Minnesota voters support Sunday liquor sales 2 to 1. Even Representative Atkin’s own Facebook poll showed lopsided results in favor of repealing the Sunday sales ban.

[fb_embed_post href=”https://www.facebook.com/State.Rep.Joe.Atkins/posts/594718200576715/” width=”500″/]

Let’s hope some form of action takes place. Sunday Liquor sales work in 38 other states. If states like Wisconsin and Georgia can figure out Minnesota should, too.

Legislative Events, Newsfeed

Sunday liquor sales, a call to action

MN Beer Activists are putting out a call to action for beer lovers across the state of Minnesota to help finally legalize the sale of liquor, wine, and beer on Sundays.

38 states allow Sunday liquor sales, including every state that surrounds Minnesota. It is time to give Minnesota consumers and retailers the choice. Let’s stop sending our hard earned money over the borders. Politicians can stop pretending they are worried about the impact on “Mom & Pop liquor stores.” The fact is there plenty of small independent stores in states where Sunday liquor sales are legal. Just follow one of the hundreds of MN license plates over to Superior, or Hudson, and take a look. Mom & Pop are going to be just fine.

“Commerce is well enough established as seven days and nights a week now, ” Dayton said. “For us to say it doesn’t apply to this or doesn’t apply to that really doesn’t make much sense. There are an increasing number of Minnesotans for which Sunday isn’t a religious holiday.”

Opponents and prohibitionists will stand by old arguments, claiming that Sundays won’t add any more sales, or that stores will be forced to open. In reality, Sunday is the second busiest shopping day of the week, and any store that doesn’t want to open won’t have to. Plenty of banks and barbers make these choices every week without a government mandate. When Colorado passed Sunday beer sales the increased revenue was credited with bringing liquor stores through tough economic conditions. How’s that for 6 days of sales across 7 days?


For probably the first time ever Sunday liquor sales has a real chance of passing this year. Governor Dayton has said he will sign a Sunday sales bill, and House leaders Thissen & Daudt have said 2014 could be the year. However, with all the bipartisan support the Sunday sales bill still faces opposition from leadership. The Sunday liquor bill will need to be heard and passed in the House and Senate Commerce Committees. Committee Chairs Representative Joe Atkins (D) and Senator Jim Metzen (D) are may not give the bill fair committee hearings without receiving a large amount of public pressure. This is how you can help.

Visit SundaySalesMN.Org 30 seconds and 1-click is all it takes. Then, share it with your friends and social media using the hashtag #SundaySalesMN


The most effective thing you can do is call!
Find your own legislators here, but be sure to call and email these leaders below.

Senate Majority Leader Thomas M. Bakk (03, DFL) 651-296-8881
Email: Use Mail Form

Senate Minority Leader David W. Hann (48, R) 651-296-1749
Email: Use Mail Form

Senate Commerce Chair James P. Metzen (52, DFL) 651-296-4370
Email: sen.jim.metzen@senate.mn

Speaker of the House Paul Thissen (DFL, 61B) 651-296-5375
Email: rep.paul.thissen@house.mn

House Majority Leader Erin Murphy (DFL, 64A) 651-296-8799
Email: rep.erin.murphy@house.mn

House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt (R, 31A) 651-296-5364
Email: rep.kurt.daudt@house.mn

House Deputy Minority Leader Jenifer Loon (R, 48B) 651-296-7449
Email: rep.jenifer.loon@house.mn

House Commerce Chair Joe Atkins (D, 52B) 651-296-4192
Email: Use Mail Form

sunday liquor sales minnesota #sundaysalesmn

Legislative Events, Newsfeed

Caucusing for Sunday Liquor sales

Time to get active!

Minnesota Beer Activists are urging supporters of ending the prohibition on Sunday liquor sales to go out to the caucuses Tuesday evening and get involved. Minnesota’s precinct caucuses will be held
Tuesday, February 4, 2014 at 7:00 p.m.
mn caucus finder
Precinct caucuses are meetings organized by Minnesota’s political parties, typically on the first Tuesday in February of a statewide election year. Minnesota’s major political parties must hold Caucuses at least every statewide election year. Other political parties may also choose to hold caucuses. It is the first step for the party to select candidates and choose the party’s goals and values (called the party platform).

Below are sample resolutions you can take with you to your caucus.
DFL Sunday liquor sales resolution – Right-click to Download
GOP Sunday liquor sales resolution – Right-click to Download

mn beer caucus

Support your candidates

It is not only important to introduce resolutions, it is important to support the legislative candidates that support listening to voters and repealing the Sunday liquor sales ban.

Candidates that we know support Sunday liquor sales –

Senate
Carlson
Dibble
Pappas
Reinert

House
Anderson, M.
Anderson, S.
Drazkowski
Falk
FitzSimmons
Freiberg
Hausman
Hertaus
Hilstrom
Hornstein
Kahn
Kieffer
Lesch
Liebling
Lien
Loeffler
Loon
Myhra
Norton
Paymar
Peppin
Pugh
Simonson
Woodard

Who can attend a caucus?

  • Precinct caucuses are open to the public. But in order to vote, offer resolutions, or become a delegate, you must:
  • Be eligible to vote in the fall election.
  • Live in the precinct.
  • Be in general agreement with the principles of the political party (Minnesota does not have an party registration process).

What happens at a caucus?

  1. Elect precinct officers who work to organize political activities in the precinct. This could include maintaining contact lists, convening political meetings and helping with campaign efforts.
  2. Discuss issues and ideas for the party to support. People may bring ideas, called resolutions, to be voted on. People usually bring a typed or handwritten copy of their resolution.
  3. Vote for the person you want the party to support for governor or president. This is called the straw poll, which is an informal poll to learn how much support each candidate has. Candidates are officially chosen at future meetings, called conventions.
  4. Elect delegates to represent your precinct at upcoming political conventions that are held during an election year. The first are the political party’s county or district conventions. At these conventions, delegates endorse candidates to represent the county or district, and then choose a smaller number of delegates for the party’s congressional and state conventions. These delegates will endorse candidates to represent the congressional district or statewide offices such as governor or U.S. Senator.
Legislative Events, Newsfeed

Sunday Alcohol Sales Amendment Fails

Sadly, the Sunday sales amendment sponsored by Tina Liebling was shot down by both sides of the aisle.
Watch video testimony here.
Shortly after the vote House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt tweeted the roll call including his negative vote.


Daudt’s vote and the “no” votes other Republicans seem to contradict the MN GOP Platform.

We support a fair, honest and competitive business environment…

Failing to allow Sunday liquor sales put local liquor store owners at a competitive disadvantage with bars. Furthermore, it puts MN at a competitive disadvantage with surrounding states every week.

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Legislative Events, Newsfeed

Sunday Sales Bill SF 0225 Introduced to Minnesota Senate

DFL Senator Roger Reinert and GOP Senator Jeremy Miller crossed party lines to author SF 0225, a bill to finally ease the prohibition on Sunday off-sale liquor purchases in Minnesota.

The bill would allow off-sale establishments to operate on Sundays if they choose to be open. In addition to Sundays, the bill would allow sales on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

“We are a free market society, consumers can make choices and people of faith who don’t want to shop on Sunday can make that choice, others who want to can,” said Sen. Reinert. “We just really don’t need the government telling a business when it can be open and when it can’t be.”

Sen. Reinert said it is all about giving the consumers what they want and giving businesses options. Sunday sales could generate anywhere between $15 million to $150 million in tax revenue.

Senator James P. Metzen
Senator James P. Metzen

After the initial reading the bill was referred to the Senate Commerce Committee.  If the Senate Commerce Committee Chair James P. Metzen (52, DFL) decides to hear the bill it will continue to move along in the political process; if not, the bill is likely to die before making it to the floor for discussion.

 

 

 

 

Source: WDIO – Duluth