Louisville, Kentucky (February 25, 2009) – The Food with Wine Coalition announced today that a bill to allow grocery stores to sell wine in counties which allow the sale of alcoholic beverages was not filed in this Session of the General Assembly.
Opportunity Missed
Failure to File Bill Leaves $86 Million on the Table in New Tax Revenue That Kentuckians Will Now Have to Make-up Elsewhere; Thousands of Kentuckians Demand Action
Louisville, Kentucky (February 25, 2009) – The Food with Wine Coalition announced today that a bill to allow grocery stores to sell wine in counties which allow the sale of alcoholic beverages was not filed in this Session of the General Assembly.
At present, Kentucky is one of only 16 states that do not allow consumers to purchase wine in grocery stores. Six of seven of Kentucky’s border states (with the exception ofTennessee) already allow consumers this fundamental choice.
The Food with Wine Coalition, which represents Kentucky’s grocery industry on this issue has been responding to strong consumer demand to allow customers to purchase wine to consume with their meals at the place where they do their food shopping – grocery stores. More and more retailers have to turn down their customers’ request for wine because current state laws prohibit grocery stores from selling wine.
Luke B. Schmidt, a Louisville-based consultant which represents the Food with Wine Coalition noted that changing existing state law to allow grocery stores to sell wine is “pro-consumer, pro-agriculture and pro-Kentucky,” and that there are three significant reasons as to why the law should be changed, including:
- Changing the law will increase competition in the state’s wine market by providing between 300 and 400 new sales outlets for consumers to purchase wine, thereby ending the near monopoly currently enjoyed by liquor stores, and providing consumers with more competitive pricing
- With the addition of these new sales outlets, the sale of wine is expected to grow significantly which should increase the amount of tax revenue collected by the Commonwealth by $86 million over the first five years, without raising any existing tax rates
- The addition of these new sales outlets will also substantially increase the sale of Kentucky-produced wine, thereby increasing the demand for Kentucky-grown grapes – a real benefit for Kentucky’s farm families
According to Schmidt, although the Coalition intended to file a bill during this Session, due to the shortness of the Session and the legislature’s need to focus on the immediate budget shortfall, not enough time was left to address other important issues including this one.
Schmidt stated, “This is truly a missed opportunity for all Kentuckians. At a time when the Commonwealth is struggling to make ends meet, the passage of this legislation would have started the flow of money into the pipeline before the General Assembly meets in 2010 to consider what many are now saying could be a $1 billion budget shortfall. Just think of how $86 million could have been used to improve schools, roads, healthcare and issues related to families and children!”
Schmidt also noted the widespread support for changing existing law to allow grocery stores to sell wine. “In addition to the significant revenue implications, nearly 56,000 Kentuckians signed petitions in grocery stores across Kentucky a few weeks ago, demanding that the law be changed. Media online polling consistently indicates that 90%+ of those polled want this law changed. Groups such as the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, the Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce have endorsed this legislation.” The Kentucky Enquirer and the Bowling Green Daily News have endorsed the concept of grocery store wine sales.
Between now and the next Session of the General Assembly, the Food with Wine Coalition will step-up its efforts to bring this issue to the attention of all Kentuckians and encourage the legislature to change the law so that everyone benefits – most especially the taxpayers and farmers.
The Food with Wine Coalition is a not for profit organization that was established in 2007 by Kentucky’s grocery store industry and is supported by Kentucky’s wine industry. The Coalition’s purpose is to educate and inform the citizens of Kentucky about the advantages of allowing grocery stores to sell wine in wet and moist counties. Interested parties are invited to learn more about the issue by visiting the Coalition’s Web site (www.foodwithwine.org).