Battle begins in Georgia as Sunday beer, wine sales bill introduced

ATLANTA - Local communities would be able to decide for themselves whether beer and wine sales should be allowed on Sunday under legislation filed at the state Capitol.

The legislation introduced on Thursday by state Sen. Seth Harp, R-Midland, sets up what is likely to be one of the hot battles under the gold dome this session. On one side are grocery and convenience stores, which want to be able to sell six-packs on Sunday. Lining up against them is an unlikely pairing _ the Georgia Christian Alliance and the state's liquor stores.

Georgia, Connecticut and Indiana are the only three states that ban the Sunday sale of all alcohol for off-premises consumption.

Harp's bill would give local governments the ability to decide whether Sunday beer and wine sales should be permitted. Voters in those communities would then have to approve the change at the ballot box.

A recent poll by Mason-Dixon Polling and Research commissioned by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution found support for the bill. Sixty-eight percent of Georgians supported the local-option legislation. The telephone poll of 625 state residents had a margin or error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. Support was even stronger in metro Atlanta, where 80 percent of respondents said they liked the idea.

Harp said that every Sunday cars stream across the border from his western Georgia district into Alabama were they can pick up a bottle of Merlot along with their groceries. He added that his district is filled with members of the military, who are surprised by Georgia's blue laws.

"I'm a strong believer in the separation of church and state," Harp said. "The vestiges of the Sunday blue laws are a holdover from a different time."

Speaking on the floor of the state Senate, Harp acknowledged that the issue is likely to stir up strong feelings among lawmakers. Some conservative Christians say the sale of booze on Sunday would sully the Sabbath.

Ed McGill, a lobbyist for the Georgia Alcohol Dealers Association, said liquor store owners opposed the proposal largely because they are left out. He described the fight as a David and Goliath battle between local liquor store owners and the large chain grocery and convenience stores.

"We don't want our 1,100 liquor store owners driving by the big chain on grocery stores on Sunday selling beer and wine when they can't," McGill said.

Jim Tudor a lobbyist for the Georgia Association of Convenience Stores, cast the issue as more about local control than alcohol.

"Our customers want the opportunity to have their voices heard and we are working hard to ensure they get a vote in this matter," Tudor said.

An open question is whether Gov. Sonny Perdue would sign the bill if it makes it through the state Legislature. Perdue, a teetotaler, was noncommittal when asked about the bill last month, quipping only that it wouldn't be part of his agenda.