In a move that seems destined for celebration here at Yale, Gov. Dannel Malloy hopes to give you more time to buy your beer.
Malloy is expected to propose changes to state liquor laws that would allow supermarkets and package stores to sell alcohol on Sundays, the Hartford Courant reported on Friday. Malloy also wants to extend the hour until which liquor can be sold until 10 p.m., and allow bars to stay open until 2 a.m. every night, not just Fridays and Saturdays. He is expected to announce these proposals in a Sunday press conference.
While these changes have been proposed in the past, they have never received the governor’s support and have failed to pass the state legislature.
Malloy hopes the proposed changes will boost revenue, but critics say that won’t happen. Instead, they argue that Sunday alcohol sales will only decrease customer traffic the rest of the week while forcing businesses to pay to remain open another day.
Proponents of the changes, meanwhile, argue that the state must allow liquor sales on Sunday to stay competitive with Massachusetts and New York, which allow alcohol to be sold every day of the week. They have also said that increased alcohol sales could bring in as much as $5 million per year to state coffers.