Tomorrow, Georgia's Senate will consider Senate Bill 10 (SB 10), which would authorize counties, via popular referendum, to allow sales of distilled spirits on Sundays. You can click here to find and contact your senators in Georgia. Current law, now decades old, prohibits such sales. NTU supports SB 10 because it is a long-overdue reform to a burdensome regulatory regime, one that is hampering economic activity. As I stated in a letter to the Senate:
"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 legislators can show that they have taxpayers' long-term interests in mind by giving them the choice to modify the prohibition on Sunday sales of distilled spirits. If you live in Georgia, click here to find your senators and speak out in favor of SB 10.