OHIO HOUSE Lawmakers to vote on allowing Sunday liquor sales

Mothers Against Drunk Driving has not taken a position on the bill.
CLEVELAND (AP) -- The state is considering ending a ban on Sunday liquor sales that dates back to Prohibition.
The Ohio House is scheduled to vote Tuesday on a bill that would allow liquor stores to sell alcohol from 1 p.m. to midnight on Sundays, if area residents already have voted to allow bars or restaurants to sell hard liquor on Sundays.
The Senate overwhelmingly passed a slightly different version of the bill in February. Gov. Bob Taft has not taken a position on the bill.
"It's just a common-sense update of our laws," said state Rep. Jim Trakas, an Independence Republican who has sponsored a similar bill. "Beer and wine are legal to buy on Sundays. If that's available, why shouldn't you be able to buy liquor?"
Little opposition
The bill has attracted little opposition in the Legislature, even though it would overturn 71 years of tradition. No one testified against the bill at numerous committee hearings in the House or Senate, and only a handful of lawmakers have voted against it.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving was notified about the bill several months ago, but decided not to take a position on it, said Doug Scoles, executive director of the Ohio chapter of MADD.
"Our mission is to stop drunk driving, but we are not prohibitionists," Scoles said.
State Sen. Jim Jordan, an Urbana Republican, one of five senators to vote against the bill, said he has watched with dismay as cultural attitudes toward Sunday have changed.
"Unfortunately, Sunday is not seen as much as a day for church," Jordan said. "Now, families are traveling for soccer games and other events."
Ohio has 411 liquor stores. All have contracts with the Ohio Division of Liquor Control that allow them to sell alcohol. The stores must share the profits and some hefty taxes with the state, in exchange for having limited competition.
Only one liquor store, in suburban Columbus, is permitted to sell hard liquor. It got permission last month after taking advantage of a recent law by holding a referendum in the local voting precinct.
Times have changed
Forty years ago, it would have been difficult to find many stores of any kind open on a Sunday.
Now, Sunday is the second biggest shopping day of the week, said Jason Wetzel of the Ohio Grocers Association. Saturday is first.
"As the times have changed and society's views have changed, people understand that as long as you're selling alcohol responsibly, it shouldn't matter if it is on a Sunday," Wetzel said.
Under the bill, liquor stores across the state could get permission to operate on Sundays without an additional vote. But store owners would have to amend their contracts with the liquor control division.
Matt Mullins, spokesman for the Ohio Division of Liquor Control said the division has not decided whether it will agree to change the contracts. The division has been neutral on the bill, he said.