Mississippi house passes bill that would allow liquor stores to operate on Sundays

by

Lacey Alexander

• Published on February 2, 2023 • Last modified on February 3, 2023 • Comments

In this file photo made April 15, 2010, bottles of liquor are on display at a Virginia Alcohol and Beverage Control (ABC) store in Richmond, Va. The agency says it saw a record profit of $121 million in the last fiscal year and has contributed more than $1.5 billion to the state's general fund during the last five years.
AP Photo/Steve Helber

The state's House of Representatives passed a bill yesterday that allows wet counties to permit the operation of liquor stores on Sundays. Some municipalities already allow beer and wine sales on those days, and this bill would allow package stores to sell liquor between the hours of 1 and 6 PM.

Lacey Alexander

Mississippi house passes bill that would allow liquor stores to operate on Sundays

Democrat Representative Jeffrey Harness of Fayette is a co-author of the bill. He says municipalities will have autonomy in how they sell alcohol on Sundays if the measure is passed.

"I know my constituents, and my district, but I don't know the districts in [other] counties," he said. "They should reserve the right to say, you know, 'we'll make our decision later.'"

The bill was primarily authored by Republican Brent Powell, who had multiple bills on the topic of alcohol sales die in committee this session. A similar bill died in committee in the 2020 session. Harness says the state's older policies on Sunday alcohol sales are "archaic", and its time for Mississippi to move on. He believes changing the law could bring considerable revenue to the state.

"The revenue derived from the sale of the alcohol would come to the state," he said. "I studied hard and thought hard about this issue, and at the end of the day, it's time for the state of Mississippi to move forward."

The bill will now go to the Senate, where it will be taken up in committee.