Legislation that would allow grocery stores in "wet" counties to sell any brand of wine narrowly cleared the Senate on Wednesday.
After concurring in a voice vote with a House-approved amendment to Senate Bill 284, the Senate voted 18-14 to send the bill to Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson.
Sen. Gary Stubblefield, R-Branch, was the 18th senator in the 35-member Senate to vote for the bill. He declined to say afterward why he voted for the bill.
Under current law, grocery stores can sell only wines that are from "small-farm wineries" that produce 250,000 gallons or less a year, according to the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Board.
The bill is supported by Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Kroger Co. and some liquor stores.
But many other liquor store owners oppose the legislation because they say it would harm their businesses. Some county-line liquor stores supported the bill after grocers promised that they would not support elections in the next eight years seeking to add to the list of "wet" counties, or those that allow alcohol sales. Forty of the state's 75 counties are "wet," according to the state Department of Finance and Administration.
The legislation will be on the governor's desk today, and "he will review it, as he does every bill, and make a decision," Hutchinson's spokesman J.R. Davis said after the Senate's vote.
Most of the bill's provisions would become effective Oct. 1. Two sections on grants would become effective Jan. 1.
Sen. Bart Hester, R-Cave Springs, said in an interview that he's "very confident the governor is going to sign the wine bill."
The House-approved amendment to the bill resulted from some of the negotiations that the governor encouraged. The governor was never for or against the legislation, Hester said.
But the Distilled Spirits Council, a national trade association for producers and marketers of distilled spirits sold in the United States, called on Hutchinson to veto SB284.
The council cited an economic analysis that shows existing liquor stores are projected to lose an average of $90,000 in annual revenue, or about 8 percent, and lead to 35-40 stores going out of business and costing 100-150 people their jobs.
During brief debate on the bill, Sen. Joyce Elliott, D-Little Rock, told senators that she's "100 percent confident that the folks who have the large businesses are going to be OK."
She said at least 30 small liquor stores in her Senate district will be at risk under this legislation without having proper time to be prepared for "a whole new business model."
Elliott said lawmakers have an obligation to support small-business owners who are the backbone of the economy, without breaking their backs.
"And I think if we pass this bill, it will break their backs," she said.
No senator responded to her remarks.
Hester said in an interview that "the free market is always fluid and there are many businesses who have come out to support Wal-Mart, and it's the No. 1 employer in the state of Arkansas and our Krogers.
"The market has just moved from the smaller stores to the bigger box, and now we are seeing the market move more to online," he said. "I think we can look at other states and see that the liquor stores are surviving and doing fine even with their grocery stores having access to full liquor and this is certainly not giving our grocery stores that access."
On Feb. 8, the 35-member Senate voted 18-11 to approve the legislation, sending it to the House. The House's initial 48-24 vote fell three votes short of the 51 required for approval last week before the House later voted 53-34 for the bill.
The House-approved amendment to the bill would allow liquor stores to have "consumables and edible products that complement alcoholic beverages" and require the Alcoholic Beverage Control agency to promulgate rules to facilitate the sale of complementary products.
Several representatives switched their votes last week to allow the bill to clear the House. Among them was Rep. Charles Blake, D-Little Rock, who said the grocers also promised not to push until after 2025 for legislation to allow them to also sell liquor.
Under SB284, a grocery store may apply to the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board for a grocery-store wine permit that would allow the store to purchase and sell wine for off-premises consumption.
Wine-inventory orders or purchases are required to be made by the store for delivery to a single, permitted location. Under the bill, an order for an inventory of wine is barred from being combined with an order for another store in a way that would result in bulk discounts.
The grocery-store wine permit fee under SB284 would range from $1,000 for a permitted building space of less than 35,001 square feet to $5,000 for a permitted building space of more than 75,000 square feet.
The fees revenue would go into the Arkansas Wine Grants Fund. Fifty percent of the money would be divided among wineries seeking grant payments, subject to certain limitations. The other 50 percent would go toward operating and staffing a wine tourism facility and office space for the Arkansas Wine Producers Council in Franklin County.
A Section on 03/09/2017