House considers legislation to extend hours of liquor sales

The House Appropriations Committee reported legislation in October that would allow establishments that sell alcohol either by the glass or packaged to extend their operational  hours  if they purchase an additional license from the state.  The legislation is one concept being floated at the state level to increase state revenues.

House Bill 5056 is offered by Rep.  Richard Hammel  (D-Flushing). In particular, the legislation would allow bars and retail establishments to sell alcohol until 4 a.m. instead of the normal closing time of 2 a.m. The legislation would also allow for the sales of alcohol on Sunday morning from 7 a.m. until noon. In each case, the proprietor is required to acquire an additional license at a cost of $1,500 for either the late night extension or the Sunday morning extension or $3,000 for both.

The legislation provides local townships the final say on any extended operational hours that occur in their community.  First, any community that currently does not allow Sunday sales within their community would automatically mean that Sunday morning sales would not be considered  in that community.  If a township decided not to allow the extended sales under any circumstance, a resolution could be adopted in opposition to late night sales, Sunday morning sales or both. Once this resolution is filed with the state, all applications from the community would automatically be rejected.  Finally, if a community does not act on the issue, any application that comes from the community would need approval of the township board. This would allow for a specific evaluation of how the change in operational hours would likely impact the neighborhood.

It is anticipated that most applications for Sunday sales would come from grocery stores and potentially restaurants that serve Sunday brunches. The late night sales could come from virtually any establishment. Most observers conclude that law enforcement issues are likely to be much more pronounced with the sales until 4 a.m.

This type of legislation has been considered in the past, however earlier versions contained much less local control over the issuance of the license. Rep. Hammel has expressly stated his concern that locals must be a full partner in the issuance of these special licenses.