Want a bottle of wine or a six-pack of beer at your doorstep, in addition to Amazon packages or your grocery order? This scenario could potentially soon become a reality in Kansas.
Lawmakers are weighing whether supermarkets, restaurants and liquor stores will be allowed to deliver beer, wine and spirits to an individual, either themselves or through a third-party delivery service, such as DoorDash or Uber Eats.
Such a move would follow a series of attempts to modernize the state’s liquor laws, such as a move from the COVID-19 pandemic era to allow on-the-go drink sales and expand Sunday liquor sales.
More than half of all states currently allow the delivery of liquor, and many of them have made the restrictions of the COVID-19 era permanent over the past two years. But following suit would be a big change for Kansas, a state that until recently had one of the most restrictive liquor laws in the country.
More:Kansas legalized to-go cocktails earlier this year. Here are the changes in booze lawmakers could consider next.
Consumers want beverage delivery, supporters argue
Supporters of the bill argue that it would bring Kansas law into line with what most consumers already want. The bill requires an identity check to confirm that the person placing the order is 21 or older and that the person is not visibly intoxicated.
Michael O’Neal, a lobbyist representing Walmart, said the idea was “a logical extension of what we already have” and that the state was “a little late to the game.”
“One of the things we’ve learned from COVID is the big appetite, no pun intended, among our consumers for home delivery,” O’Neal told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Federal and State Affairs on Friday.
Grocers or retailers like Walmart would only be able to supply beer; the bill wouldn’t go beyond what’s currently on sale at places like Dillon’s or Hy-Vee.
Alexi Madon, a lobbyist for DoorDash, said liquor sales alone will increase by nearly 300% in 2022, with the company finding that individuals who buy a liquor tend to spend more.
And while bars and restaurants currently have the option to ship a to-go cocktail to consumers, Scott Schneider, a lobbyist for the Kansas Restaurant and Hospitality Association, said allowing liquor to ship with food is a would be a logical extension of that policy. .
“If a consumer wants a beer with their pizza and the product is legally available through a licensed liquor store, they should be able to place an order and have it delivered,” Schneider said in written testimony.
Liquor stores and others are concerned about lax enforcement
But not everyone believes that better access to alcohol is a good thing. Research has shown that home delivery laws relaxed during the COVID-19 pandemic were partly responsible for an increase in drinking, including binge drinking.
And Debbi Beavers, director of the Division of Alcohol Beverage Control, noted that it would be difficult for regulators to determine whether a person is purchasing alcohol on behalf of minors.
“That’s the dilemma of it all,” Beavers said, though noting that it’s currently possible for a person over the age of 21 to pass legally purchased booze to minors.
Delivery services say they have adequate security controls in place, including requiring delivery drivers to scan customer ID before placing an order.
But liquor stores claim there is no way hundreds of Uber or DoorDash drivers can be held to the same legal standards the retailers believe they must meet.
“I don’t know how the ABC is going to enforce it,” said Wichita liquor store owner Brian Davis. “They don’t have enough agents to maintain us as we are now.”
A liquor store could, in theory, obtain a license necessary to supply alcohol directly to consumers, although some other retailers, such as a microbrewery or distillery, would not be able to do so.
But stores say the bill is actually made by Walmart and other major retailers, as well as delivery services.
By letting those entities deliver, said Aaron Rosenow, owner of Vern’s Retail Liquor in Topeka, they would be trampling on small businesses, which may not have the money or capacity to pay the fees or hire the staff to make the delivery. to deal with.
“It’s not going to benefit the state of Kansas,” Rosenow said. “There’s only a certain pie for alcohol sales. This isn’t going to add anything to the pie.”