Dear Senator:
On
behalf of the National Taxpayers Union’s (NTU’s) nearly 8,300 members in
Georgia, I urge you to support Senate Bill 10 (SB 10), which would empower
counties, if authorized by popular referendums, to permit sales of distilled
spirits on Sundays.
Georgians are
looking to their elected officials to promote economic prosperity, which is
assured by keeping taxes low, maintaining manageable expenditures, and doing
away with burdensome regulations. With a major effort to reform Georgia’s tax
code underway, and recent Senate passage of an NTU-backed, constitutional tax
and expenditure limitation, it only makes sense for the General Assembly to
also examine regulatory policies to determine whether they are effective and
still necessary today.
Although “Blue
Laws” were widespread in America during the early 20th century, one
by one the states recognized that such strictures ought to be adapted to
reflect the more interconnected 21st century economy. Currently, 36
states, including Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, and Virginia, allow some form of
Sunday sales of distilled spirits. Since 2002 alone, 14 states have joined
these ranks. The time has come to let Georgia communities decide whether or not
they wish to have seven-day-a-week sales of distilled spirits.
Sunday sales
will give Georgia consumers and visitors added convenience for shopping, and
will also provide benefits for the economy and the state. Increased sales means
increased economic activity, which translates into more jobs in the retail
industry and more revenue for the state without the need to raise taxes. With
state unemployment hovering around 10 percent and budget deficits in excess of
$1 billion, these benefits should not be ignored. Nonetheless, SB 10 is
carefully drafted so that counties and their citizens can decide the issue
based on their own preferences.
Georgia’s taxpayers are
counting on you to look after their long-term interests. You can do so by
giving them the choice to modify the prohibition on Sunday sales of distilled
spirits. SB 10 passed the State and Local
Government Committee by a vote of 5-1. A similar bill, House Bill 69, passed
the House Regulated Industries Committee unanimously on February 9, 2011. The
next logical steps are for the entire General Assembly to vote “yes” on SB 10.
Sincerely,
John Stephenson
State Government
Affairs Manager
Letter
