AUSTIN – Today, the Senate Committee on Businesses and Commerce heard SB 1013 by Senator Dawn Buckingham, which would give Texans the opportunity to vote for seven-day spirits sales through local option elections, a press release states.
A companion bill, HB 2232, by Representative John Bucy III will be heard in the House Licensing and Administrative Procedures Committee tomorrow at 9 a.m.
“Texas business owners and consumers should have the right to weigh in on whether they want seven-day spirits sales, not have this right dictated to them by the government,” said Kristi Brown, Distilled Spirits Council of the United States Senior Director of State Government Relations. “Allowing local option elections for seven-day sales simply gives voters the opportunity to choose what works best for them. We appreciate Senator Buckingham for bringing this bill to the committee and are hopeful the committee will pass SB 1013 and send it to the full Senate for consideration.”
In a recent statewide poll, the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States found that 61 percent of Texans support allowing seven-day sales to be decided at the local level via local option election.
Texas is one of only seven states that does not allow liquor stores to operate seven days a week, even though beer and wine can be sold in the state by licensed businesses any day of the week.