Impending alcohol changes by Indiana Legislature will yield winners, losers

Here is a breakdown of some preliminary drafts facing the panel that meets again on Dec. 1. Included are suggestions of winners and losers if legislation passes the General Assembly.

• Cold beer and Sunday sales: One preliminary draft of legislation allows a package liquor store, grocery store, convenience store or drug store to sell alcohol for carryout on Sundays. Beginning July 1, 2019, convenience stores, drug stores and groceries could sell cold beer. 

Who loses: Package liquor stores, though they could be open Sundays, won't be the only outlets selling cold beer, as they are now.

Who wins: Hoosiers who forgot to buy a six-pack for a Sunday Colts game.

In between: In a unique partnership, the Indiana Retail Council (big box groceries) and the Indiana Association of Beverage Retailers (package liquor shops) support Sunday sales but not the expansion of cold beer sales.

• Sunday carryout sales: One proposal would allow a package liquor store, grocery store, convenience store or drug store to sell alcoholic beverages — not cold beer — for carryout on Sunday. Initially, the hours were from noon until 8 p.m. in an attempt to not conflict with church service hours.

Who loses: Strong church-goers — though church may be out by noon — who see values eroding. State Sen. Lonnie Randolph, D-East Chicago, said, "There's something about Sunday and church, Sunday and religion that doesn't sit well with me. ... Beer and religion doesn't equate." Added Lisa Hutcheson, director of the Indiana Coalition to Reduce Underage Drinking, "Research shows that an increase in the days and hours of the sale of alcohol will increase youth access."

Who wins: Licensed convenience stores, groceries, drug stores and any outlet willing to hire 21-and-over Sunday staff. Another winner: the free market; Keith Byers, a Fort Wayne businessman serving on the alcohol committee, said, "I've heard nothing that convinces me that Sunday sales is going to add any more to alcohol abuse or underage drinking."

• Areas to sell alcoholic beverages: The proposal would require a dealer, not including a package liquor store, to display alcoholic beverages in a separate area or in the line of sight of an employee. It also requires video surveillance of the area.

Who loses: Stores would need to spend extra cash on creating new minor-free zones.

Who wins: Package liquor stores because they are exempt. Hoosiers fighting access by minors to alcohol could claim a small victory.

• Mandatory carding: Clerks could face a Class B misdemeanor if they fail to ask for ID so buyers prove they're of legal age. But there's a provision that the clerk can decide not to card if the consumer appears to be 50 years of age or older (currently it's 40). In October, a Bartholomew County liquor store was fined $500 for furnishing alcohol to a minor and for not carding someone who appeared to be under 40. State Rep. Ben Smaltz, R-Auburn, has suggested tripling such fines in lieu of mandatory carding.

Who loses: Some legislators who will undoubtedly hear complaints from middle-aged adults like they did when mandatory carding was broached before. State Sen. Ron Alting, R-Lafayette, said, "Twenty years I've been in the Senate I have never, even on the Religious Freedom bill, I have never received more emails, more hate emails, on any subject more."

Who wins: A partial victory for those who support carding everyone. "If we're going to say 21, we need to mean 21 and there's only one way to do it," said State Rep. Terri Austin, D-Anderson. "Either everybody cards or nobody cards but it's about curtailing underage access."

• Minors in package liquor stores: The proposal allows a minor to be on the licensed premises of a package liquor store if the minor is younger than 14 and accompanied by a parent or guardian who is at least 21.

Who loses: Youth, being exposed to alcohol. According to Jerri Leach, executive director of the Allen County Drug and Alcohol Consortium, 33 percent of high school seniors report using alcohol on at least a monthly basis. "We are not doing well enough at keeping youth from the dangerous ... substance of alcohol."

Who wins: Moms or dads who run into a liquor store as their kids sit alone in the car.