The public hearing for HB 2206 has been changed from March 6 to Thursday, March 7, 2013. The Hearing on the Big Box Liquor bill will be in the House Commerce Committee. The Chair hopes to start the Committee by 1:00 p.m. and offer 1 hour for proponents and 1 hour for opponents to testify. The bill may be voted on within a few days of the hearing. We hear the proponents are advertising their willingness to change the bill to Strong Beer and Wine, or perhaps even just Strong Beer, if that will gain them the votes needed to pass the bill out of committee.
KABR will host a lunch in the Statehouse to begin at 11:00 a.m. in the 3rd floor south wing of the State Capitol. Every retailer should plan to attend, and bring employees, family and others who care about preserving local small business. Invite your legislator to meet you at the lunch.
The key to this issue continues to be one-on-one meetings with your legislators. The days of "phoning it in" are over. The delayed hearing provides more opportunities for retailers to meet with their legislators. Please schedule those meetings as soon as you can get on the legislator's schedule to visit with them in person, whether in Topeka or when they are in their hometowns.
This hearing was initially planned for February 19-20, but was rescheduled due to large number of issues this Committee is handling prior to Turnaround Day - March 1. It is being set back again to avoid being on the first day back from their Turnaround break. The Legislature will not meet March 4 or 5, so legislators should be available in their hometowns.
Since HB 2206 is exempt from deadlines, it can be postponed beyond the Turnaround deadline for bills to be considered in their House of Origin. That exempt status comes from its introduction in the House Taxation Committee, an "exempt" committee.
Kansas Association of Beverage Retailers P.O. Box 3842, Topeka, KS 66604 Email KABR
