Today, the House Commerce Committee tabled HB 2206 - the Big Box Liquor bill - by a narrow margin. 

The Committee adopted an extensive amendment by Rep. Hutton (R-Wichita) to allow only wine and beer at grocery/convenience stores, create a longer transition period and minimize the overall number of liquor licenses.  It is a complicated amendment and the description was emailed to you this weekend. 

A local option amendment offered by Rep. Rothlisberg (R-Junction City) failed – would have required cities and counties to opt out if they did not want to have big box, grocery or convenience store sales.  Another amendment was adopted to try to make it difficult for the tax transfer to cities and counties to be swept by the State.  A new balloon is supposed to be drafted that would show these changes to the underlying bill. 

We do not know if the Committee will pull the bill from the table to work it this session, or perhaps choose to revisit the amended version during the 2014 Legislative Session.

Please shower the Representatives who voted to table the bill with thanks.  Send your appreciation to all of the Committee members for spending a great deal of time considering the serious implications of restructuring the retail liquor industry in Kansas.

This is not over.  It would take only one or two committee members to change their votes and resurrect the bill.

The Chairman, at this point, does not seem interested in spending any more time with this debate as the regular session days wind down.