Posted on 09/20/2015 12:11:15 PM PDT by Lorianne
Having spent a large part of my life in a state where getting wine or booze meant going to a state-operated “wine and spirits shoppe,” it doesn’t seem all that awful that Walmart and other publicly trade companies are barred from selling hard liquor in the state of Texas. But for the nation’s biggest retailer, that law makes no sense — and it’s in the middle of a legal battle with the Lone Star state for the right to dispense spirits.
The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission is responsible for handing out liquor licenses to retailers and other businesses in the state, but Sec. 22.16 of the Texas state code prohibits just about any company held by a public corporation from obtaining a “package store permit” for selling anything stronger than wine or beer.
“Wal-Mart is therefore irrationally banned from competing with privately owned companies that are, unlike publicly traded corporations, allowed to obtain package store permits,” writes the company in lawsuit [PDF] filed against the TABC in federal court earlier this year.
The retailer notes that even if public corporations were allowed to obtain package store permits, “Texas law irrationally prohibits companies and persons from owning or holding” more than five of these licenses.
(Excerpt) Read more at consumerist.com ...
You want irrational liquor laws?
Go to Pennsylvania. ‘Cuz that’s how you get irrational liquor laws.
If you think that is backwards Pennsylvania has the most archaic and consumer unfriendly liquor sales in the nation.
You can’t buy beer or wine in grocery stores. All hard liquor is sold by the government owned “State Stores”. Beer is sold in distributorships that are frequently hard to find if you’re not familiar with the area you’re looking to purchase a case of beer in.
So this means all state holidays, no liquor sales. That includes 3 day weekends and yes, even days where the state is technically closed but every retailer in the world is open, including the banks.
The legislature has been trying to get sales in grocery stores, convenience stores etc for years and to privatize or eliminate the state monopoly. Wanna guess why they can’t get it done?
I have a bottle of Jack Daniels saved that I won’t let anyone open.
I bought it on a Sunday afternoon at a convenience store in Baton Rouge.
No need to ask "How did that turn out?"
“Corporations have neither bodies to be punished, nor souls to condemn”
It not an uncommon law. A few other State’s only issue liquor licenses to a natural persons (not corporations).
Legally, we still treat a lot of alcohol businesses like hazardous waste recycler. It’s left over from prohibition, and in some States, enabled by the established businesses that don’t want to compete.
Here in Florida Walmart sells wine and beer but the prices are nothing to write home about. I know of a few retail liquor stores I frequent who regularly undersell Walmart by a wide margin and I’m not kidding. A six dollar decent bottle of wine at Walmart I can get for $2.99 at a local liquor store. So Texans shouldn’t feel exactly deprived. I used to buy at Walmart but then they decided to get fancy with their stock and their prices. The wine I’m talking about BTW is Australian and very much worth the six-buck price. So I’m happy I found a discount supplier. Which was what Walmart started out to be.
I’m from Vancouver BC. If you want irrational, try govt owned stores who rip off citizens by jacking up the price double. That’s why when I came to America and I saw they were selling booze at 7-11 and every shitty store, I almost choked up.
How about this: You want a bottle of out-of-state wine that isn't on the LCB's current list of stocked items. The winery won't ship it to your door and the LCB won't even order it and have it delivered to the store for pickup. grrrr.
Insufficient opportunities for graft?
In Texas Walmart is trying to sell hard liquor. They already sell beer and wine
Try and get a keg of beer in Utah. Not!
THE TEXAS CONSTITUTION
ARTICLE 3. LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT
SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. The Legislative power of this State shall be vested in a Senate and House of Representatives, which together shall be styled "The Legislature of the State of Texas."
So if the referenced state code concerning alcohol was made by elected Texas state lawmakers, then it’s up to the voters to work with lawmakers to change the law if voters don’t like it.
But if the referenced state code was made by non-elected bureaucrats in the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, and I don’t know how members get confirmed to the commission, then regulations made by the commission are arguably as unlawful with respect to the Texas constitution as federal EPA regulations, for example, are unlawful under the federal Constitution imo.
Insights, corrections welcome.
Contrary to what many think, the lifting of Prohibition was a gradual process and some counties in this nation are still dry while a great many are "partially dry" with all sorts of crazy rules.
For instance, here in Connecticut, you can't purchase beer in a supermarket after 5PM on a Sunday. You can put it in your cart and if you get to the register by 4:59, you are good. But if it's 5:00, the cashier will put it aside and have it re-stocked. But, you can walk across the street to the Buffalo Wild Wings and have all the beer you want until closing time. Which from a DUI standpoint, makes no sense at all. Wouldn't it be better to let people purchase beer and bring it home to drink then to drink it in a public place where you have to then drive home?
There's another state, Utah, I think, where you walk into a restaurant and must have "intent to dine" before being served an alcoholic beverage. And then, you must purchase liquor in "airplane size" containers. So if you want say, a Jack Daniels and Coke, you get a glass of Coke and then you have to purchase the 1.5 oz airplane size bottle of Jack Daniels and pour it into the Coke yourself.
All sorts of weirdness out there. There is a book by Andrew Barr called "Drink: A Social History of America" that tries to explain it all.
It’s the “Heaven and Hill” lobby, They cant compete with Wal~Mart brand Vodka and Gin.
Well then they either need to get the Ethanol out of gasoline or make all the gas stations get a license for dispensing 20 Proof hootch.
If you want Jack Daniels whiskey you have to leave the county it is produced in. Dry county, go figure.
Utah restaurants used to allow patrons to brown bag bottles of wine. Not sure what goes on now.
I’m just ticked I have to go one of three States to buy legal marijuana.
Can you buy a six-pack at the BWW to take home? I’m sure it would cost a fortune, but just wondering. There’s a bar here that for the longest time sold beer to-go for $1/bottle right out of the cooler.
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