ST. PAUL – Want to buy alcohol on Sundays? The Minnesota House of Representatives has voted to allow you to do just that.
State Representative Jason Rarick (R-Pine City) voted with the bipartisan majority allowing Minnesotans to buy off-sale liquor on Sundays.
“I look at it as a market freedom issue,” Rarick said. “Some small stores and municipal liquor stores are opposed to it, but some other local municipals are in favor of it, as are the overwhelming majority of area residents that I’ve heard from on this topic.”
The bill would allow retailers to sell alcohol between 10:00 AM and 6:00 PM on Sundays, effective July 1, 2017, but it would prohibit the delivery or acceptance of alcohol to an off-sale retailer on Sundays.
Off-sale liquor sales are currently permitted between 8:00 AM and 10:00 PM Monday through Saturday. This bill does not require liquor stores to operate on Sundays, but removes the legal prohibition against doing so.
Minnesota is currently one of 12 states with a prohibition on the sale of intoxicating beverages on Sundays, none of which border Minnesota.
“It’s important to remember that liquor stores would not be mandated to open on Sundays,” Rarick said. “They would have the freedom to choose their hours. If they wanted to continue a six day work week they could, as an example, open on Sundays and close on Mondays. It would be up to business owners to decide on a schedule that works best for them and their customers.”
The Sunday sales bill now heads to the Minnesota Senate for further debate.