The State’s alcohol policy gone awry | Eastern NC Now

By Rev. Mark Creech
Christian Action League
July 23, 2024

Remember the transformation of Bedford Falls to Pottersville in the classic film “It’s a Wonderful Life”? Once a picturesque, peaceful town where everyone knew each other and community values thrived, Bedford Falls became Pottersville—a place characterized by unchecked vice, neon signs, and a pervasive sense of disarray and moral decline.

This unsettling change mirrors the potential impact of SB 527 – the ABC Omnibus 2023-2024 bill that passed and was signed into law this year. Despite removing Sunday and Happy Hour sales, the bill still included provisions that will transform many North Carolina communities, introduce more alcohol advertising, provide easier access to alcohol at family events, and reduce oversight. Just as George Bailey fought to preserve the soul of Bedford Falls, The Christian Action League unashamedly advocated for balanced and responsible alcohol policies to protect the integrity and safety of North Carolina’s communities.

The passage of SB 527, the ABC Omnibus 2023-2024 bill, represented the sixth major revision of North Carolina’s alcohol laws in less than ten years. Each iteration has further advanced the promotion and sales of alcohol in the state, raising significant concerns about the balance between public health, safety, and economic development.

Since 2015, North Carolina has made sweeping changes to its alcohol policy through ABC Omnibus bills:

In 2015, HB 900 consisted of 10 pages with 9 sections.

In 2017, SB 155 expanded to 17 pages with 21 sections.

In 2018, HB 500 had 14 pages with 8 sections.

In 2021, HB 890 grew to 28 pages with 33 sections.

In 2022, HB 768 returned to 9 pages with 9 sections.

In 2023, SB 527 became the largest yet, at 39 pages with 37 sections.

These bills have passed alongside numerous other alcohol measures, indicating a significant shift in the state’s approach to alcohol regulation. While periodic review and updating of alcohol statutes are essential, the recent trend is driven more by profit-seeking motives with little concern for the public’s good.

The Christian Action League opposed SB 527, particularly due to its numerous provisions that were not thoroughly vetted for potential harm. For instance, the bill’s primary sponsor needed approximately 45 minutes just to explain the bill’s contents to the House ABC Committee. This level of complexity and lack of thorough examination was concerning and reflective of the woeful ignorance and dismissal of the problematic nature of alcohol use and abuse.

Lifting restrictions on alcohol policy, as seen in this year’s Omnibus alcohol legislation, leads to several negative consequences. Increased alcohol consumption, both overall and binge drinking, which are linked to serious health issues such as liver disease, heart problems, addiction, and mental and emotional disorders are tremendous concerns. Then, there are public safety effects that include a rise in drunk driving, serious accidents, violence, and social disturbances.

One of the Christian Action League’s major apprehensions was the provision allowing ABC stores to open on Sundays and holidays. No Sunday sales at ABC stores help to promote family time, improved health, reduced alcohol-related crime, and fewer drunk driving fatalities. Studies show that taking a break from drinking just one day a week offers significant health and safety benefits. Thankfully, lawmakers removed the Sunday sales provision from the bill, but the allowance for holiday sales remains troubling.

The introduction of Happy Hours was another contentious issue. Increasing access to alcohol through promotions like Happy Hours, without fail, always increases dangerous consumption levels. Despite safeguards, curbside cocktails raise the likelihood of more impaired driving and underage drinking. Although the Happy Hours provision was eventually removed, the legislation still legalized curbside cocktails (to-go mixed beverages), which provides a set of its own significant potential harms.

Additional concerns about the bill included raising the cap on alcohol advertising materials, lowering thresholds for alcohol referendums, and the potential impact this could have on small communities with limited law enforcement. Allowing teens as young as 15 years old to work in ABC-permitted establishments exposes them to environments and situations that they are not yet mature enough to handle. Selling branded items at ABC stores violates a core value that ABC stores are prohibited from promoting liquor sales. Moreover, allowing the Catawba Indian Tribe to establish its own ABC system, despite a relatively new official relationship with the state, creates even more uncertainty.

The passage of SB 527 notably advanced the alcohol industry’s agenda, while crucial measures like lowering the BAC level for drunk driving didn’t even get a hearing. Furthermore, North Carolina has not meaningfully considered raising alcohol taxes for decades. Alcohol taxes, which might be more accurately described as user fees, help to offset the substantial social and economic costs of excessive alcohol consumption.

The current approach to North Carolina alcohol reforms heavily favors the alcohol industry at the expense of public health and safety.

The National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics reports that excessive alcohol use leads to the loss of 115,831 years of potential life annually in North Carolina – a tremendous amount of lost worker productivity. In 2010, excessive alcohol use cost North Carolina taxpayers over $7 billion, equivalent to more than $9 billion today. This translates to an astonishing $2.85 per drink in 2022.

These figures highlight the profound financial implications of loosening alcohol control laws. North Carolina lawmakers are tasked with protecting the state’s economy, taxpayers’ money, and the overall health and welfare of North Carolinians. Bills of this nature are not the way to achieve these goals. By fostering a balanced, evidence-based conversation about alcohol policy, genuine improvements can be made that benefit society as a whole.

However, if the truth be told, the voices of North Carolina citizens are largely silent on this issue and matters will only get worse if Joe Public doesn’t speak up. Currently, the only voices being heard are lobbyists for the alcohol industry, the North Carolina Restaurant Association, and the libertarian think tank, the John Locke Foundation, which seemingly has no more qualms about selling alcohol than soda pop. If these groups continue getting their way, figuratively speaking, more and more of North Carolina’s communities will look like Pottersville.