Bill
SB 824
Would remove a ban to let chain stores and supermarkets obtain Class A off-premises alcohol licenses, expanding where they can sell packaged drinks.
Status and timeline
- Introduced in the 2025 legislative session (Sen. McCray). First reader/fiscal note dated February 18, 2025.
- Withdrawn by the sponsor on March 10, 2025 (the bill did not become law).
- If enacted as written, the bill would have taken effect July 1, 2025.
Purpose and intent
- To remove the statutory prohibition that prevented local boards of license commissioners from issuing Class A alcoholic beverages licenses for use in conjunction with (or on the premises of) chain stores, supermarkets, or discount houses. In short: allow local licensing boards to issue Class A (off‑premises) retail alcohol licenses to such establishments.
Key provisions
- Amends Article — Alcoholic Beverages and Cannabis, §4‑205 of the Annotated Code of Maryland.
- Deletes the statutory language that barred local licensing boards from issuing Class A beer, beer-and-wine, or beer-wine-liquor licenses to chain stores, supermarkets, and discount houses. (The bill’s text indicates the deletion of “Class A” from the list of prohibited license types; prohibitions on issuance of other classes listed in current law remain unchanged.)
- Effective date provision: July 1, 2025 (if enacted).
Who would be affected
- Chain stores, supermarkets, and discount houses: could seek Class A (generally off‑premises sales) retail alcoholic beverages licenses from local licensing boards, enabling them to sell packaged alcoholic beverages where previously prohibited.
- Small independent retailers and existing licensed alcohol retailers: could face increased competition, with potential adverse impacts on sales and market share.
- Local boards of license commissioners (county and municipal): would have expanded discretion to issue Class A licenses and would likely handle additional licensing applications and related enforcement responsibilities.
- Local governments: potential modest increases in local licensing fee revenue and inspection/enforcement costs.
Fiscal and policy impacts (per fiscal note)
- State effect: not material.
- Local effect: likely minimal increases in local expenditures (licensing/enforcement) and offsetting minimal increases in local revenue as additional licenses are issued.
- Small business effect: characterized as “meaningful” — beneficial to chain/supermarket operators that obtain licenses, potentially adverse to some existing small retailers.
Context and considerations
- In Maryland, retail alcohol licensing is managed locally (boards of license commissioners in counties, Baltimore City, and Annapolis). Class A licenses typically authorize off‑premises sales (packaged beverage sales). Allowing large retailers to obtain such licenses can change local retail dynamics and consumer access to alcohol, and may raise policy questions about public health, competition, and local control.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
Sign in to ask a question.
