Beer and wine could be delivered to your doorstep soon, as SC alcohol bills advance
Twin alcohol proposals that would make it easier for South Carolinians to buy beer and wine without having to ever leave their car — or their home — cleared another hurdle Tuesday on the road to becoming law.
Legislation that would allow for same-day delivery and curbside pickup of beer and wine, not liquor — H. 3772 and H. 3575 — were passed out of the House Judiciary Committee Tuesday, sending the pair of alcohol-related bills to the House floor for debate.
The fate of both proposals — born out of efforts to allow alcohol businesses to reach customers during the COVID-19 pandemic — is still rocky given past pushback from conservative lawmakers, the state’s top police agency and some state senators, who carry more power to slow down bills.
Both bills’ proponents said Tuesday the legislation would not be such a radical change to what is already allowed in state law.
The same-day delivery bill, for example, would not open up alcohol delivery measures on the books but ultimately add restrictions since South Carolinians already can order wine, for instance, from a wine-of-the-month club, said the bill’s sponsor, state Rep. Beth Bernstein. Beer and wine curbside pickup is already allowed under Gov. Henry McMaster’s emergency order that was enacted last year to keep customers away from one another to reduce the chances of contracting the potentially serious respiratory disease.
“I wouldn’t necessarily characterize it as a great need,” Rep. Micah Caskey, R-Lexington, told a colleague. “Simply a need or a want.”
The same-day beer and wine delivery would allow South Carolinians to order beer and wine and get it the same day, similar as online grocery purchases. The delivery could only be made by a licensed same-day or third-party delivery service, and the driver would have to be 21 years or older and pass a background check. The driver could not deliver the goods without checking the customer’s ID to make sure they are allowed to buy alcohol, and the driver would have to make sure the customer is not intoxicated.
If a customer orders beer or wine delivery on Sundays, the city or county would have to already allow the sale.
And the wine and beer could not be delivered to churches, playgrounds, schools or university and college campus housing.
Caskey said 40 other states already allow the delivery of alcohol, including Georgia and North Carolina.
The proposal does not include liquor delivery, a tweak Rep. Seth Rose, D-Richland, said he would have favored.
But Caskey said, in this case, excluding liquor makes the proposal a more “palatable” bill while meeting the demand.
The bill got committee approval by a 18-4 vote Tuesday. But state Rep. John McCravy, a Greenwood Republican who has opposed further expanding access to alcohol, told The State that lawmakers should listen to the concerns from law enforcement.
“I voted no because I just felt like it opens up an opportunity maybe for people who shouldn’t, minors, other people who don’t need to get access to alcohol so easily. It opens up problems with that,” said McCravy, who does not drink alcohol. “Even though it has training in there for these third parties that are delivering, whether or not that’s going to be effective is a good question. Generally, I’m not against people who decide to drink alcohol. That’s got nothing to do with it. It’s just making sure that it doesn’t get in the wrong hands, that’s all.”
What is likely to be a much easier lift in the Legislature, the committee also by a 22-0 vote approved a proposal sponsored by Rep. Russell Fry, R-Horry, that turns the governor’s temporary COVID-19 measure to allow curbside pickup of beer and wine permanent.
The South Carolina Chamber of Commerce and other alcohol trade groups support the measure.
McCravy said the curbside bill is not an issue and, as a general concept, he does not have a problem with it.
“I have an open mind, but it’s got to be safe.”
This story was originally published February 16, 2021 at 3:43 PM.
