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Legislative Alert

We are analyzing the Governor's sweeping changes to the alcohol industry in CT. 

We are working directly with the Governor on all of the proposals and at this time are trying to figure out the impact that all of the pieces will have on retailers.  We will soon determine our strategy after careful consideration by our board of directors. 

For further information member stores can call our office.

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**NO SUNDAY SALES**
NO WINE IN FOOD STORES


DISCUS (Distilled Spirits Council of the US), representing liquor suppliers Bacardi, Beam, Brown-Forman, Constellation, Diageo, Imperial, Luxco, Moet, Patron, Pernod, Remy, Sidney Frank, Suntory, and the Food Stores Association, continue their media game and lobbying efforts for Sunday Sales, even if all their membership might not support the initiative.  Expanding sales from 6 days to 7 days only increases retailer costs and spreads six days of sale over seven. Malls are reducing their hours because of the economy, so don’t let the state do the same to you. Consumers that buy in other states do so because taxes are lower.  Consumers travel six days a week over the border with other states to get cheaper product and this would not change on a Sunday in Massachusetts.

You need to call your legislators (Representative and Senator) and tell them you oppose Sunday Sales, any optional six days of sale, wine in food stores, any Big-Box special Sunday permits and tell them there is no extra revenue in another day of sale and that you will be forced to staff another day with no extra sales! 

Click here to read about why you can't buy wine at local farmers markets. 

To contact your state legislator if you know who they are you can call the following numbers:

  • House Democrats 800-842-8267
  • Senate Democrats 800-842-1420
  • House Republicans 800-842-1423
  • Senate Republicans 800-842-1421

If you do not know who your legislator is where you live and work then you need to call your local Registrar of Voters and then call the numbers above.

 
Sincerely,
Alan Wilensky
President of CPSA

Owner of Max’s Package Store, East Lyme, CT

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CONTINUED BAN ON SUNDAY SALES OF ALCOHOL IS GOOD FOR CONNECTICUT


Sunday Sales of alcohol is not nearing repeal like many in the manufacturing, food stores and wholesaling industry would like everyone to believe. The majority of Connecticut's legislators will not allow such a bill to pass, as has been the case for over fifteen years.

The proposal to allow additional days and hours of sales is a misleading attempt for these interests to push their product on consumers. A buy more drink more policy without regard of the social, health, and public safety issues sets a dangerous precedent.

Studies show that additional days and hours of sale will not return revenue and instead spread sales out over seven days on what normally occurs over six days. Additionally, the overhead of adding hours and days increases costs to retailers making it worthless to open. Any revenue gain would best be described as blood money, as the public and personal unintended consequences of this proposal become known. Stores sell six days a week, 72 hours a week. If a person cannot obtain alcohol in this time, availability is not the problem. Additionally, any increase in days would be a problem to the population of underage teenagers and problematic consumers.

The revenue proposals from the national manufacturers is based upon fabrication of hypothetical information designed to gain sales on Sundays, holidays or 24 hours a day without any thoughtful consideration of their action. It is an outrages gimmick to suggest that a five million dollar revenue would come from this proposal. To achieve this, state residents that drink would have to increase their consumption to:

  1. 5 million more gallons of beer
  2. 300 thousand bottles of wine
  3. 100 thousand bottles of spirits
  4. or a combination of these all because stores would be open an extra 52 days a year.

The consumption of such an excess of alcoholic beverages is preposterous.

One of the major reasons the CT Coalition Against Underage Drinking and the regional  Substance Abuse Councils oppose any increase in more availability of off premises sales hours and days of sale, is that most teenagers' window of opportunity for procuring beer or alcohol products is on weekends, from Friday evening to Sunday evening. Currently their chance to illegally purchase is reduced almost 50% by stores being closed on Sunday. Alcohol beverage inspectors would have to assign to police this additional day. The few alcohol beverage inspectors who are on the road visiting the over 3000 beverage outlets cannot now adequately cover all selling locations properly.

We should be discussing:

  • reduction in outlets
  • fewer hours
  • days of sale

to get a grip on the increasing problem of drunken driving and the resulting deaths associated with alcohol abuse. The terrible cost of alcohol abuse is paid for by the state in health, social services and public safety costs, which would only increase well beyond any revenue gain from this costly proposal.