By Senators Clark Jolley and Stephanie Bice
Voters have a chance this November to show they trust the free market to move our communities, our state and our nation forward. State Question 792 will modernize beer and wine laws, boost the economy and create new jobs.
When Oklahomans vote yes on SQ 792, they will eliminate archaic restrictions that hold back entrepreneurs who run corner stores, dream of brewing and selling craft beer, or hope to turn their land into productive vineyards.
A growing coalition of consumers, grocers, retailers, chambers, grape growers and craft brewers supports the effort to allow sales of cold, regular-strength beer and wine in grocery and convenience stores.
Why? They see opportunity to give Oklahomans more freedom by opening the marketplace.
SQ 792 will allow your local grocer to offer new product lines and increase choice and convenience for consumers. Shoppers will be able to get everything needed for dinner, including a bottle of wine, in one place. Breweries and wineries will be able to expand their investments in hopes of capturing part of a larger market.
Even liquor store owners, who were initially involved in but walked away from negotiations, will gain the ability to sell refrigerated products, along with non-alcoholic items such as ice, limes and mixers. While liquor stores fear the loss of their monopolistic market for regular-strength, room temperature beer and wine, they will have new opportunities to compete with provisions to increase the number of liquor stores an individual can own.
Competition has always formed the basis of America’s economy, and the more we can do to create a level playing field, the better. For example, rather than making beer runs across the state border, Oklahomans will now be able to keep their dollars at home. We believe updating Prohibition-era laws will also make it easier for employers to attract and retain a younger and more diversified workforce.
As parents and concerned citizens, we kept an eye on safety throughout this process. SQ 792 raises the age at which people can sell regular-strength beer and wine from 16 to 18, increases the fine for violating the law and moves enforcement of those rules under the ABLE Commission, rather than the Oklahoma Tax Commission.
SQ 792 is the only effort to modernize Oklahoma’s beer and wine laws that voters can decide this year. At the Capitol, many people came together to draft this compromise. We worked with representatives on both sides of the aisle to find benefits for diverse groups, from busy moms to owners of Oklahoma-operated grocery stores, wine makers and retail merchants.
We hope Oklahomans will join us in this opportunity to reject protectionist laws, affirm our support of the free market and move our state forward by voting Yes on 792.
This is one area where we really do need to catch up with the rest of the states. Our current system is unnecessarily complicated and restrictive.