Bill could reduce number of alcohol retailers in Indiana

The number of Indiana retailers who sell alcohol could be reduced if a liquor bill is enacted. \nIndiana Senator Thomas J. Wyss and Representative Robert K. Alderman, both Republicans, and Representative Bob Kuzman and Senator Billie Breaux, both Democrats, are attempting to pass a bill that would more clearly define what constitutes a grocery store under Indiana's alcohol laws. \nThe representatives claim the current "grocery store" definition allows too many retailers, from gas stations to home-furnishing stores, to sell alcohol. They say alcohol's pervasiveness allows for easy access to minors. \n"The more locations you have selling alcohol, the more chance you have of alcohol getting into the wrong hands," Wyss said. \nWyss cites a wedding shop in Allen county that was given a permit to sell beer and wine. \n"That has to be stretching any definition of a grocery store," he said.\nWyss said he is not trying to limit competition, as critics argue, but to be realistic about how many stores should be able to sell alcohol. He says the bill's authors are responding to county neighborhood associations and alcohol and beverage commissions who wish to see the number of retailers who can sell alcohol reduced. \nJohn Livengood, president of Indiana Association of Beverage Retailers, said the association favors the bill.\n"We're extremely supportive. We think it's long overdue and very needed," he said. \nLivengood said a "huge, gaping loophole" currently exits in Indiana law that allows what he believes are illegitimate grocery stores to sell alcohol.\nHe and Wyss both say a 16-year-old convenience store worker can sell alcohol under the current law, creating a situation in which teenagers sell alcohol to their friends. \n"Because there's no definition of a grocery store in the law, people are getting permits who shouldn't be allowed to have them," Livengood said. \nWyss wants a more practical definition in which retailers receive alcohol licenses based upon the amount of food sales versus other products they sell. He does not aim to prevent actual grocery stores from selling alcohol. \n"I'm not saying grocery stores should not be able to sell alcohol," he said. "I'm saying you should have a specific amount of food sales before you can be called a grocery store." \nGrant Monahan, president of the Indiana Retail Council, said the council opposes the legislation. \n"We believe that under current law, convenience stores are grocery stores and have every right to sell alcoholic beverages," he said.\nMonahan said the proposed law would only limit competition and benefit liquor stores. He said liquor stores -- not grocery stores -- receive a large number Alcohol and Tobacco Commission violations.\nHe said the majority of underage drinkers purchase beer. The most logical solution legislators could take to reduce underage drinking would be to prohibit the sale of cold beer in liquor stores, he said.\nBut the Alcohol and Tobacco Commission's Web site shows violators distributed evenly across the spectrum of establishments who sell alcohol, from restaurants to pubs. \nWyss said 22 of the 29 Indianapolis City Council members, who will request a state definition, support asking the General Assembly to define grocery store. \nIf the General Assembly passes the proposed legislation, Livengood said it could issue an emergency clause, in which the bill could take effect immediately.