20th District State Representative Tom Dermody says he is still evaluating a bill that could affect consumers in Indiana.
House Bill 1026 would allow for those with a proper permit to sell alcoholic beverages for carryout on Sundays in the state. The bill, filed this week in Indianapolis, has not been presented to Representative Dermody – who chairs the often controversial Public Policy Committee.
He says he is weighing several factors before making his decision to hear the legislation in committee.
“I think it’ll be difficult to ensure that everybody is happy, I don’t think that should be the goal, I think we should look at good legislation that helps continue to move our state forward,” says Dermody.
Indiana is among a shortening list of states continuing to disallow Sunday sales for alcohol carryout according to numerous liquor organizations.
The Republican out of LaPorte represents portions of LaPorte and Starke counties – areas of which are within short driving distance of neighboring states. Dermody says he has a couple of weeks before making his decision.
“If people are going out of the state to purchase their alcohol, and I’m not sure, depends who you talk to, if that truly is a revenue gain or revenue neutral that’s spread out instead of six days to seven, you know that’s yet to be seen,” says Dermody.
The bill is sponsored by Representative Sean Eberhart, who represents areas in Indianapolis. Dermody says that the Indiana Chamber of Commerce stated in a meeting that he himself was authoring a bill, but says they never contacted him directly.
Should the bill be heard, lawmakers have until the end of April to vote on the matter.
