Kansas Liquor Laws Need Modernization

Jim Puff is a Kansas entrepreneur. He has been in the grocery store business for 43 years, and owns a convenience store, a cafe, a catering company and a grocery store in Alma, Kansas.

Unfortunately, in order to invest in his businesses and provide jobs for his employees, Jim must battle Kansas liquor laws. While some of Kansas’ neighboring states permit grocery stores to sell full-strength beer, his stores must make do with reduced alcohol content beer, or 3.2% beer.

How would modernizing Kansas liquor laws help Jim Puff and others like him? Right now, Kansas grocery stores may not sell full-strength beer. Consumers wishing to buy full-strength beer must go to a different store that is only able to sell strong beer, wine and spirits – no food items. This is a lose-lose situation. For consumers, it adds unnecessary time, effort, and money. For retailers, these regulations reduce profit potential. Current laws that prohibit what grocery stores and convenience stores can sell place a huge burden on Kansas retailers, especially when faced with escalating rent, and energy costs for lights and refrigeration. In effect, the state of Kansas is regulating businesses into oblivion.

Allowing grocery stores to sell full-strength beer, wine and spirits, and allowing liquor stores to sell grocery items will result in increased competition, benefiting both retailers and consumers in the form of increased economic activity and lower prices. Senate Bill 54 would do just that. Allowing retailers to sell additional items, such as beer, wine and spirits, would add an entirely new department to retailers; growing their product availability, increasing the need to hire new employees, and incentivizing customers to shop locally rather than drive to larger cities or bordering states where they can purchase products in one stop. SB 54 would provide sustainable economic growth for years to come.

So far, the opponents of the measure are most concerned about the chances that an increase in full-strength beer and liquor vendors will increase the likelihood that children can get access. But according to Kansas’ own Alcoholic Beverage Control Division, grocery and convenience stores have a better record of complying with laws restricting sales to minors (such as tobacco) than do liquor stores. Grocery and convenience stores have a long track record of responsibly selling age-restricted products.

In previous years, Kansas jobs and tax revenues have been traveling across state lines. A large percentage of Kansans live within driving distance to the Missouri border. Currently, many will cross the state line to take advantage of one-stop shopping in the Show-Me State, where grocery stores can sell wine and full-strength beer. And shoppers don’t stop there. Once they are in Missouri to buy groceries and alcohol, they are likely to buy other items such as gasoline and clothing. The jobs created to provide those products and services stay in Missouri, and the tax revenue from those sales go to Jefferson City, not Topeka.

Kansas is facing a budget deficit of $550 million, meaning that the newly elected governor and legislature will be looking everywhere to increase revenue and cut spending. According to a study by Dr. Art Hall, Director of the Center for Applied Economics at the University of Kansas, School of Business, ending these restrictions would advance the goal of increased competitiveness and productivity, adding an estimated 15,367 jobs, $343.6 million in wages, and $72.5 million in state and local tax revenue, after full economic adjustment to the repealed restrictions.

The 21st Amendment repealed Prohibition in the United States, but some states have held on tightly to their blue laws. Blue laws success at discouraging drinking is spotty, but their success at discouraging entrepreneurship and chasing away jobs and tax revenue is certain. It’s time for Kansas to get with the times, and update laws for the benefit of hard working Kansans across the entire state. If Kansas wishes to better serve its citizens, implementing policies such as SB 54 is one step in the right direction.