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| Gov. Rick Scott |
Florida's
so-called "liquor wall" won't be coming down after all. Gov. Rick Scott vetoed a bill late Wednesday
that would have removed a Prohibition-era law requiring liquor to be sold in
separate stores from groceries and other retail items.
Twenty-nine
other states have similar laws that allow spirits in the grocery aisles, but
the bill gained stiff opposition from social conservatives concerned it would
lead to increased alcohol consumption, alcoholism and underage drinking. Yet it wasn't those concerns that swayed
Scott. It was the pleas of independent liquor store owners and workers that led
to his veto. "I have heard
concerns as to how this bill could affect many small businesses across Florida,"
Scott wrote in his veto letter. "I was a small business owner, and many
locally owned businesses have told me how this bill will impact their families
and their ability to create jobs."
Scott gave few
clues in the lead-in to his decision, but acknowledged on Tuesday that his
family's history with alcoholism - his biological father and brother both
suffered from it - gave him pause. "I've
had family members that have had the challenge of alcoholism and it concerns
me," Scott told reporters Tuesday. "So as I review the bill, I take
all those things into consideration."
Big-box
retailers, such as Wal-Mart and Target, pushed for the bill the past four years
and don't appear to be giving up on the idea. "There is a clear momentum in Florida
for this common-sense approach to liquor sales," said Michael Williams,
spokesman for Floridians for Fair Business Practices, an advocacy group backed
by Wal-Mart and Target. "We look forward to working with state leaders in
the future to finally put an end to this outdated, Prohibition-era law."
The bill was
one of the most heavily lobbied pieces of legislation this year. As big
retailers pushed for the measure, independent liquor stores and Orlando-based
ABC Fine Wine & Spirits fought against it. Publix, which has gone to the
expense of setting up liquor stores next -to its grocery stores, also opposed
the legislation.
