HB-81

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Title
Do Floridians want hard-liquor in our grocery stores and gas stations?
05/10/2017

DO FLORIDIANS NEED INCREASED ACCESS TO HARD LIQUOR?

  1. Florida is ranked #3 in the nation for fatal DUI crashes- Not just statistics- Deputy John Kotfila died saving another drivers life when a driver with a .27 BAC hit Kotfila head on.

 Image result for john kotfila jr    Karan Khullar     http://www.madd.org/blog/2016/october/Template-21.png …..

  1. Binge drinking or excessive alcohol consumption is responsible for 88,000 deaths in our nation.

  2. Alcohol related deaths rank 3rd for preventable deaths behind obesity and cigarette smoking.

  3. ONLY 18 states allow hard-liquor to be sold inside grocery stores.  (National Alcohol Beverage Control Association)

    1. Unrestricted: California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, South & North Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, West Virginia, Maine, Washington D.C., Hawaii, Missouri, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Louisiana

    2. With restrictions: Florida, Colorado, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Vermont, Wyoming, Washington

    3. Beer Only: Utah, Minnesota, Kansas, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Connecticut

    4. Beer and Wine: Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Indiana, New York, Maryland (grandfathered in liquor sales), New Hampshire

    5. NONE:  Alaska, Delaware, Rhode Island

PLEASE NOTE those states allow hard liquor in grocery stores have very strict and enforced DUI laws.

Floridians do not want or need HB-81.  HB-81 takes away the added security system that separate stores provide with camera systems and ability to card everyone who enters their store AND hard-liquor will be available 24/7.  

 

HB-81, 2017 Legislation
Say no to booze in groceries
04/14/2017

Ask any Florida legislator if their phone has been ringing off the hook from constituents who can't get enough vodka or rum, and they would have to say "no." Then why are they pushing hard liquor into our grocery stores without public input or backing?
 
It appears the driving force behind this change are corporate executives at big box stores who will profit greatly. They don't care about Florida families and are too cheap to spend money building a separate entrance. The current separate entrance policy allows for ID verification at the door along with cameras monitoring every corner, provides an avenue to prevent underage drinking, and protects our friends in recovery from making an impulse purchase. Does anyone want our children growing up with liquor as part of the food shopping experience?
 
Binge drinking or excessive alcohol use is responsible for 88,000 deaths in our nation, and Florida is ranked third in the nation for fatal DUI crashes. Only 16 other states allow this type of distribution. Thirty-four states do not allow hard liquor to be mixed with grocery items.
 
Other than creating a one-stop shopping experience that includes alcohol, I can't think of any reason for passing this bill. Our state doesn't need it and the public, the few who are aware of this proposed change, don't want it.
 
Teresa Miller, Tampa


HB-81, alcohol, 2017 Legislation, miller
HB 81 CB 106 - Hard Liquor in our Grocery Stores
03/02/2017

Please review the following information to better understand how alcohol misuse impacts our families:

  1. Overview of Alcohol Consequences- NIAAA PowerPoint (easy reading)

Consequences

  • Physical Effects: Infectious disease, Cancer, Diabetes, Neuropsychiatric disease, Cardiovascular disease, Liver and pancreas disease, Unintentional and intentional injury Heart, liver, pancreas
  • Unintentional and Intentional consequences: fatal crashes, falls, drownings, burns, suicide, stabbing, shooting, HOMICIDE, assault, sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse.
  • Social harm: family dysfunction, unemployment, criminal conviction, financial, child & family neglect

Cost of Alcohol Abuse:

  • Globally, alcohol is third leading risk factor for premature death and disability
  • $223.5 billion in 2006- estimated costs of alcohol abuse in U.S.
  • Nearly 60% costs paid by government and others
  • 15% of U.S. workforce drinks enough alcohol to lead to workforce impairment

     2.  Teen Theft
Teen shoplifting, liquor a bad mix

  • Several Capital High School students agreed with Graham’s assessment, " that teens are taking advantage of it being easier to shoplift liquor" than beer or wine.
  • “You’re not an automatic suspect when you walk in a grocery store,” said one student interviewed Tuesday in the school parking lot.

Doubly illegal: Qualitative accounts of underage alcohol access through theft

  • … In addition to 9% of respondents who reported stealing alcohol from commercial outlets themselves, a total of 26% respondents reported occasions when their close friends stole alcohol.

       3.  Florida Ranks 3rd in the Nation for DUI Fatalities
2015 DUI Arrest by County
2014 Summary State DUI arrests and Fatalities
      4.  16-18 other states allow hard liquor in grocery store ailses.
               2016 Issue Briefs for State Policymakers- Healthy Alcohol Market

 


2017 Legislation, HB-81
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