INDIANAPOLIS —
Depending on what happens in the Sunday-dry state of Connecticut, Indiana could soon become the last state in the nation with a Sunday ban on alcohol sales.
Legislative leaders in the Indiana General Assembly have decided against scheduling committee hearings on a bill that would have lifted the decades-old prohibition on the Sunday sale of alcohol for off-premise consumption, also known as package sales.
Their decision effectively kills the bill.
“Surely we can buy enough alcohol in this state six days a week that we don’t need a seventh day to do it,” said state Rep. Bill Davis, the Republican chair of House Committee on Public Policy where the bill had been assigned.
Indiana residents can legally buy a drink by the glass in a restaurant on Sunday, but they can’t a six-pack of beer or a bottle of wine or liquor in a store.
While the push for Sunday alcohol retail sales in Indiana is over, it’s surging in Connecticut, where Gov. Dannel Malloy announced late last week his push to legalize Sunday liquor sales in his state.
Malloy said the state’s tax revenues could go up by $11 million annually if the Connecticut legislature legalizes liquor sales on Sundays and holidays.
If Malloy gets what he wants, Indiana would be the only state that forbids retailers from selling booze on Sundays. Last fall, Georgia – one of the last remaining Sunday-dry states – rolled back the ban in most communities through local referendum votes.
In Indiana, the Republican committee chairs who have sole authority on whether to schedule a bill for a hearing and vote, were under pressure to move legislation that’s been stalled in the General Assembly for several years.
Republican legislators who were carrying the legislation had made the pitch that Sunday sales fit into the economy-boosting, job-creating agenda that GOP leaders had promised to deliver in the 2012 session.
At a press conference last fall, influential state Sen. Phil Boots of Crawfordsville, who carried the bill in the Senate, predicted the legislation would be seen as a “slam-dunk public policy issue.”
He had to roll back that prediction last week when he told reporters that he’d been told by Senate leaders that his bill wouldn’t see the light of day.
Davis said he’d been reluctant to hear the bill for several reasons. A fiscal impact statement prepared by the Legislative Services Agency – the non-partisan research arm of the legislature – estimated any tax revenues generated by Sunday alcohol sales would be minimal.
LSA concluded that consumers would just be shifting their buying habits, not buying more: “(A)ny impact on sales and Sales Tax and Alcoholic Beverage Tax revenue will likely be mitigated by a shift from other taxable items,” the statement reads.
Davis said his decision was sealed this week after he had to cancel a House public policy committee hearing because of an unrelated walkout by House Democrats protesting the right-to-work bill. The House has been officially out of session for six of 11 days this month because a majority of House Democrats have failed to show for quorum votes. Davis said that’s left him with at least 16 bills that need to go through his committee before a late-January deadline for committee hearings.
Maureen Hayden is the Indiana Statehouse bureau chief for CNHI, the parent company of the Tribune-Star. She can be reached at maureen.hayden@indianamediagroup.com
Local & Bistate
Sunday alcohol sales bill gets corked
Indiana may soon be last state with Sunday ban
- Local & Bistate
-
-
Rockville correctional facility program teaches life skills
It’s hard to know who benefits the most: the inmates or the dogs.
-
AAA mag recognizes city for arts works
The nonprofit organization that uses outdoor sculpture to draw attention to Terre Haute is getting some notice of its own.
-
State pushing for convenience stores to make safety a higher priority
In 2002, after New Mexico forced convenience store owners to put sweeping security measures into place for clerks working late-night hours, the number of robberies dropped by 92 percent. Assaults, murders and other crimes at convenience stores also dropped dramatically.
Now Indiana officials are hoping voluntary compliance with similar safety standards will bring about similar results.
-
Patriotism & Honor
From his vantage point, Sonner Faught could see almost every volunteer in the cemetery.
-
Graduation turns to mourning in Clinton
Jeana Lunsford’s graduation from South Vermillion High School Saturday should have been a time of celebration.
-
School choice proponents foresee growth of vouchers
Twenty-seven Vigo County students benefited from tax-supported vouchers during the first year of the Choice Scholarship Program, and that number is expected to grow for 2012-13, say Indiana school choice leaders who visited Terre Haute Thursday.
-
Tales of obstruction meet first takeover attempts
A decade after Indiana legislators gave the state the power to take over chronically failing schools, the first implementation of the law is meeting with resistance, skepticism and questions about its costs.
-
MIKE LUNSFORD: Raising a flag for my father, veteran or not
My daughter, Ellen, and I stood at my parents’ graves on Mother’s Day a few weeks back and talked about how it couldn’t possibly have been so long since we lost them. My dad, for instance, has been gone for 16 years, and that is nearly unimaginable
-
3 rescued from burning residence
Quick action on the part of some first-responders is credited with saving the lives of three people in a Vermillion County fire early Saturday morning, according to the Vermillion County Sheriff’s Department.
-
He never forgot a name: Friends remember victim of fire at Garfield Towers
When Freddie Poore met you, he never forgot you.
-
Hometown boy embraces ‘Promise I Made’: Clinton native Ken Kercheval takes role in Dreams Come True production
Thanks to some help from a hometown boy in Hollywood, “This Promise I Made” is still on track to be kept in Clinton.
-
STATE OF THE STATEHOUSE: Many say they don’t vote in primary because of tag that comes with it
A couple of columns ago, I posed a question about why most Indiana polling places on primary election day had so few customers.
-
Police looking for convenience store robber
Police are seeking a robbery suspect following a Saturday morning armed robbery at the Jiffy MiniMart at 25th Street and Eighth Avenue.
-
Graduation ‘responsibility’: Rose-Hulman stages 134th commencement exercises
Inventor Dean Kamen gave a first-hand demonstration Saturday of how to be an innovator.
-
THE OFF SEASON: To the seniors, one last lecture before you go …
It dawned on me one day last week, as I sat at my desk in my teacher clothes and shoes, a stack of ungraded essays calling to me from a rather tall and depressing pile, that I hadn’t missed a high school graduation in 33 years.
-
Water rescuers
Emergency personnel wheel a man who was removed from a vehicle that had been driven into the water at Crystal Lake on Boston Avenue near 14th Street at about 9 p.m. Friday.
-
For many, camping outdoors is the way to beat the heat, enjoy nature
Stringing up fishing poles in the shade of American flags, households full of Hoosiers are packing into parks across the state this weekend.
-
Towns along National Road readying for next week’s miles-long yard sale
Stretching 824 miles from Baltimore to St. Louis, the National Road — known as U.S. 40 through Indiana — will soon be the host site for perhaps the longest bargain market in the country.
-
Rose grads honoring late president Branam at commencement today
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology’s Class of 2012 will honor the memory of Matt Branam during today’s commencement ceremony by wearing special pins with the phrase “Make It Happen; Make It Fun,” a favorite saying of the former Rose-Hulman president, who died unexpectedly on April 20.
-
Vigo County Jail Log: May 26, 2012
The following individuals were booked into the Vigo County Jail by area law enforcement on Thursday and Friday, based on jail records. Charges are recommended by arresting officers but are not final until the Vigo County prosecutor reviews the case and files official charges.
-
A fallen soldier returns home
An Army carry team moves a transfer case containing the remains of Spc. Arronn D. Fields early Thursday morning at Dover Air Force Base, Del.
-
Official touts trade with northern neighbor
A top Canadian diplomat told a Terre Haute audience Thursday his country was “disappointed” when President Obama at least temporarily rejected a proposed transcontinental oil pipeline from Alberta to Texas.
-
Caution urged for summer’s kickoff
Lane restrictions in construction zones on Interstate 70 and other highways around the state will be lifted to accommodate holiday travel for the Memorial Day Weekend.
-
Letters delivered
Several positions will be eliminated this summer at the Terre Haute mail processing facility as the U.S. Postal Service begins moving the operation to Indianapolis, a U.S. Postal Service spokesman has confirmed.
-
Companies seek Vigo tax abatements
Two Vigo County companies are seeking tax abatements for expansion projects, one of which is included as part of a county incentive package.
-
High-speed chase suspect caught in West Virginia
The suspect in a cross-country, high-speed chase originating in Terre Haute last week was reportedly in federal custody Thursday evening.
-
Second victim of deadly I-70 semi-trailer crash identified
The Vigo County Coroner’s Office has identified the passenger of a semi-tractor crash on May 16 in the eastbound lanes of Interstate 70 near the 12-mile marker.
- VIGO COUNTY JAIL LOG: May 22-24, 2012
-
Burn ban in effect for Vigo County through holiday weekend
Vigo County officials have issued a burn ban effective Thursday and remains in effect until 8 a.m. Tuesday.
-
Brazil remembers a Fallen Son
A small town seemed sadly quiet Wednesday, waiting to honor a local fallen warrior.
- More Local & Bistate Headlines
-
Obama Honors Fallen Troops at Arlington Cemetery
Man in Crane at Texas College Says He's Armed
Raw Video: Deadly Explosion at Minn. Paper Mill
Raw Video: 19 Dead in Qatar Shopping Mall Fire
Raw Video: Cop Shoots Man Eating Another's Face
Air Canada Plane Makes Emergency Landing
Romney Promises World's Strongest Military
Unexpected Smog in Pristine National Parks
Beryl Knocks Out Power in Florida
Obama Pays Tribute to Vietnam Veterans
Beryl Makes Landfall on Florida Coast
Dairy Farm Uses Chiropractor to Help Cows
Service Dogs Help Wash. Soldiers Battling PTSD
Raw Video: Memorial Day Aboard Intrepid
Russia Condemns Ally Syria Over Massacre of 108
Raw Video: Heckler Bursts in on Blair Testimony
Japan Farmers Plant, Seek Radiation-free Rice
UN Blames Syrian Forces for Shelling Houla
Raw Video: Earthquake Shakes Evacuees in Italy
Raw Video: Gay Protest Blocked in Moscow
Kim Kardashian Claims Items Stolen from Her Luggage
Gordon Ramsay Carried Off Field
Man Dies Getting Lap Dance
Justin Bieber Wanted for Questioning for L.A. Scuffle
Bear cools off in Calif. family's pool
Ep. 3: Chopped Desserts
Air Force dad surprises family at baseball game
J.Lo and Marc's Friendly Reunion
Man Falls Off Crane, Dies After Police Standoff
Jet makes emergency landing after debris falls off
Cynthia Nixon Ties the Knot
Woman, 80, Falls Out of Skydive Harness Mid-Jump
Keira Reveals Engagement Ring
Dog runs alonside cyclists for 1,100 miles
Lady Gaga Cancels Indonesian Show After Threats
Long Story Short: Beyonce back on stage
