Web Extra: Now’s the time to modernize our state’s liquor laws

With very little fanfare and hardly any notice, a dramatic sea change is occurring in the local laws that govern the sales of beverage alcohol in Texas.

For the past five years in communities across the state, Texans have voted in local elections to modernize the state's archaic alcohol laws.

The continuous, steady and widespread march to the polling place won't stop any time soon because Texas laws governing the sale and consumption of beverage alcohol are antiquated, outdated and absurd. Texans clearly want to change these laws - just look at the sheer number of local elections held on this issue and the results: more than 80 percent of the time, voters approved modernized, rational laws. Those votes are what I call proof positive.

Dallas County officials recently approved a petition drive to place a "wet-dry" election on the November ballot in Irving. Irving has the distinction of being the largest dry city in the state, and, when these voters go to the polls, it will mark the 313th time that beverage alcohol has been on a Texas ballot since 2004.

A month prior, voters in Wilmer and Hutchins went to the polls and overwhelmingly decided to make their communities "wet" with regard to alcohol sales. But these communities are only recent, local examples of a much larger, much longer trend throughout the state.

The Texas Legislature changed state law in 2003 to make the process of holding "wet-dry" elections less complicated. Of 312 elections on alcohol sales held since then, 245 passed, thereby legalizing some form of alcohol sales in nearly 150 Texas communities. That is an 81 percent approval rate. This includes the off-premise sale of beer and wine by grocery and convenience stores, the sale of mixed beverages by restaurants or the sale of distilled spirits, beer and wine by package stores.

Modernizing local laws governing the consumption and sales of beverage alcohol offers communities the twin benefits of consumer convenience and increased sales tax revenue.

As daily life becomes busier, most Texans embrace the modernization of beverage alcohol laws as a welcome convenience. Consumers in these communities can now make their purchases at the grocery store or corner package store instead of driving miles out of their way.

Beyond consumer convenience, modernizing beverage alcohol laws can bring tremendous economic benefits to a community.

Cities and counties in Texas have only two basic options for raising revenue: sales taxes or property taxes. Communities that have legalized alcohol sales have generated millions of dollars in sales tax revenue without raising tax rates. The additional revenue generated then can be used to fund public services, such as hiring additional police, fire and EMS officials, build more roads and infrastructure, and operate public libraries and parks.

For instance, sales tax revenue has increased nearly 30 percent in the 41 cities that approved beverage alcohol sales in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. Sales taxes rose an anemic 1 percent in the six Metroplex cities that voted to stay "dry," which includes Cockrell Hill, Irving, Lancaster and Mesquite. Of the original six that voted "dry," two have since voted "wet" and Irving is on the ballot this November. The increased sales tax revenue cannot be fully attributed to beverage alcohol, but the positive impact that modernizing these laws has had on economic activity is undeniable.

Take it from a seasoned grassroots organizer who's worked on countless local option elections: Texans overwhelmingly want to modernize our outdated and archaic alcohol laws. During the past five years, Texans have had to take matters into their own hands and make these changes through local elections. Their message is clear: Today's consumers want modern shopping conveniences and support all reasonable measures to boost economic development in their local communities. Repealing these archaic Blue Laws is a great step toward meeting these demands.

Hatch is a partner in Texas Petition Strategies, a firm with offices in Arlington and Austin, which has successfully conducted more than 120 petitions for "wet-dry" elections in more than 71 Texas cities and counties.