The Georgia Senate overwhelmingly approved legislation Tuesday to allow businesses licensed to sell alcohol to deliver beer, wine, and spirits to customers’ doorsteps.
The current pandemic has left many Georgians wondering why they can get their bread and eggs delivered, but not their beer and wine, said Sen. Bill Cowsert, an Athens Republican who pushed for Snellville Republican Rep. Brett Harrell’s House Bill 879 in the Senate.
“During this COVID, a lot of people have been getting their groceries, delivered, and they’re like, ‘Hey, if we’re not going out to get exposed, why not get our beer and wine delivered too?” he said.
Grocery stores, restaurants and bars that want to deliver alcohol would still be covered by local laws, including Sunday sales restrictions. Customers would need to show ID to prove they are over 21.
Local government officials could ban alcohol deliveries within their jurisdiction.
Not everyone is toasting the bill’s passage.
“Accessibility equals sales, sales equals consumption, and consumption equals the potential problems associated with alcohol,” said Georgia Baptist Convention spokesman Mike Griffin in a Facebook video. “It increases accessibility, and it does not regulate how much alcohol can be delivered right into somebody’s home. That’s very concerning.”
Whether or not businesses will play by the rules is another question, said Sen. William Ligon, a Brunswick Republican who asked his colleagues to remove liquor from the bill.
“Many times, minors are accepting these deliveries, especially when delivery apps are used, because there’s not prior verification of the identity, the drivers are not following the procedure, I know the bill states a procedure, but it’s not being followed, it’s an issue,” he said.
Small mom and pop liquor stores that do not have the resources to offer delivery could be harmed by the bill, said Atlanta Democrat Sen. Donzella James, who owned a liquor store with her husband for 29 years.
But with the pandemic shifting even more commerce online and as restaurants continue to struggle to stay open, it’s inevitable that businesses that sell liquor will press to enter the online market, said Senate President Pro Tem Butch Miller, a Gainesville Republican.
“As we go forward, we’ll see more and more bills, whether it’s internet sales, whether its online purchases, et cetera, and this is just another segment of that,” he said.
The Senate passed the bill 42-9 and sent it back to the House, which has until Friday to send it to the governor’s desk in 2020.
