Senate Passes Bill Allowing Off-Sale Liquor Sales on Sunday

On a 38-28 vote, the Minnesota Senate gave its final approval to a bill allowing off-sale liquor sales on Sundays between the hours of 11 a.m. and 6 p.m.

In urging support of his bill, Senator Jeremy Miller, R-Winona, said, "Members, this is not an overnight phenomenon. This is six years or more in the making...we've been hearing loud and clear from our constituents that it's time to get this done."

Senator Tom Bakk, DFL-Cook, speaking against the measure, said, "Members there is a reason that this has never passed since statehood, because this is about trying to preserve a little piece of the market share for little, small mom-and-pop businesses."

The bill will be reconciled with the House version due to different hours allowing sales: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the Senate bill and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in the House measure. The House has the option of accepting the Senate proposal or sending the bill to a conference committee. Governor Dayton has said in an earlier press conference that he would be willing to sign the bill if passed by the legislature.