|
|
"A comprehensive, collaborative elections resource."
|
Idaho reviews Election Day liquor ban
|
|---|
| Parent(s) |
Container
|
| Contributor | particleman |
| Last Edited | particleman Jan 18, 2008 12:46am |
| Logged |
0
|
| Category | Proposed Legislation |
| Media | Newspaper - Spokane Spokesman-Review |
| News Date | Friday, January 18, 2008 06:00:00 AM UTC0:0 |
| Description | BOISE – It’s time for Idaho to repeal an archaic law that bans packaged liquor sales on Election Day – and that’s costing the state up to $400,000 in liquor sales every time there’s an election, state liquor chief Dyke Nally told lawmakers this morning.
“Idaho is one of only nine states that still place election-day restrictions on liquor store operating hours,” Nally told the House State Affairs Committee. The law, he said, is “outdated.”
Idaho allows beer and wine to be purchased in bars, restaurants, supermarkets and convenience stores on Election Day, but requires state liquor stores to close. “It’s a 1939 law,” Nally said.
He said the law’s origins were back in the days when polling places were located in saloons, and people worried about drink influencing elections. “That is no longer really, in the modern world, a problem,” Nally said.
Sales of packaged hard liquor are state-controlled in Idaho, and the state reaps the profits. Nally estimated that every Election Day, the state liquor dispensary loses $350,000 to $400,000 in sales. It also takes lots of calls from angry customers wondering why there’s a Tuesday store closure. |
| Share |
|
|
2¢
|
|
| Article | Read Full Article |
|
| Date |
Category |
Headline |
Article |
Contributor |
|
|
