SC bill to make alcohol delivery and curbside pick up legal moves forward
Dueling bills in the South Carolina State House would allow Palmetto State residents to order beer and wine from a grocery store and pick it up curbside or have it delivered to their home.
But the bill in the Senate is facing a strong opponent, one who is currently working to cut down on underage drinking across Columbia: state Sen. Dick Harpootlian.
As a panel of lawmakers tasked with vetting the bill met Tuesday, the Richland County Democrat told his colleagues that he would be voting against the bill.
“I’m not opposed to drinking,” Harpootlian said. “What I am opposed to is making alcohol more accessible.”
The Senate bill, S. 290, would allow liquor, beer and wine to be sold curbside at certain retailers and beer and wine to be delivered to homes across the state. The House bill, H. 3631, would only allow curbside pick-up, and was not discussed Tuesday.
Harpootlian said he stood against the bill because South Carolina has one of the highest rates of deaths stemming from intoxicated driving. He worried that curbside pick up of alcohol would promote drunk driving.
“I don’t think we ought to be delivering alcohol to people already in cars. It seems a little counterproductive,” Harpootlian said. “There’s nothing to stop them from consuming it the moment someone puts it in their car.”
The Richland County senator also worried the bill would promote underage drinking, something that he has fought in Columbia’s popular Five Points neighborhood, where several students spend the late night hours drinking.
The S.C. State Law Enforcement Division echoed those concerns, saying department officials believe the bill would make it more difficult to stop underage drinking, according to a fiscal impact report issued by the S.C. Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office.
On the other hand, Sarah Cohen with the S.C. Chamber of Commerce said the chamber was in support of the legislation.
“Any way we can streamline the grocery buying process for consumers is much appreciated,” Cohen told senators Tuesday.
Harpootlian did favor an amendment added to the bill Tuesday. The amendment, proposed by state Sen. Brad Hutto, D-Orangeburg, would require employees delivering the alcohol to cars or to homes to receive training to be able to recognize a fake ID and identify an intoxicated person. The amendment also would require stores to make an electronic record of the customer’s proof of age.
Hutto said passing the bill would be beneficial to those with mobility issues. Not being able to order 100% of a customers groceries for pick up “kind of defeats the purpose of calling ahead and having your groceries packed up,” Hutto said.
Ultimately, the senators voted to move the bill along on the legislative process by a narrow margin of 3-2. Harpootlian and Sen. Richard Cash, R-Anderson, voted against moving it to the full committee.
This story was originally published January 22, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
