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Last updated on Wednesday, February 25, 2015
(INDIANAPOLIS) - The Sunday alcohol sales bill has died before being debated in the Indiana House.
WTHI reports that Rep. Tom Dermody (R-LaPorte), the author of the bill, made the announcement Tuesday morning, saying he didn't have enough votes to pass it.
The alcohol bill would have lifted Indiana's 80-year-old ban on Sunday sales. However, groceries and pharmacies would have been required to sell beer and wine in only one designated store area, with liquor kept behind a service counter.
By not calling it, Dermody is also preventing a public roll call that would allow the voters to see how lawmakers voted on the issue.
"This is a vote of conscience. You can't just have people vote to keep the bill alive on alcohol and it's been made clear to me I do not have the votes," said Dermody.
The amendment to the bill may have sealed its fate, according to one observer.
"You can't just pass that on only to alcohol customers. Everything in the store goes to to cover that cost. We really dodged a very expensive bullet for all customers, not just alcohol," said John Elliott, Kroger public relations.
Asked if the amendment was a poison pill deliberately placed in the bill, Elliott said, "I don't know if that was the intent but it was the outcome. It was a series of poison pills. More like a poison pharmacy there were so many poison pills that were in there."
House Speaker Brian Bosma said the bill wouldn't be called for a vote Monday. A vote was possible Tuesday, but Dermody decided to pull the bill.
"What people don't realize is it was a stretch just to get it to this point - the farthest ever in the history of the legislature. While people had an opportunity to look at where they were going to be, this was a difficult vote. When it came down to it, people were uncomfortable continuing to move the bill forward and clearly did not have the votes," said Dermody.
"The loser today is Indiana consumers who were looking for greater convenience when shopping for alcoholic beverages on the second busiest shopping day of the week. That is unfortunate," said Grant Monahan, Indiana Retail Council.
"We actually supported the bill. We wanted Sunday sales with good public policy. It was a comprehensive look at where and how alcohol is sold. We think that is a good debate that Hoosiers clearly support," said Patrick Tamm, Indiana Beverage Retailers.
As for the future of Sunday alcohol sales in Indiana?
"I don't think there's a next step that I'm thinking about right now. I get to focus on the last two days of the legislature here and that's where I'm gonna be spending my time," Dermody said.
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