House Reps pass 'Georgia Brunch Bill' to allow alcohol servings earlier

georgia brunch bill

ATLANTAAs a member of the traditional “Bible Belt,” Georgia had been slow to relax their prohibition on the sale of alcoholic beverages on Sundays. Now that Georgia has allowed liquor stores to sell on Sundays, legislators and voters are working on enabling restaurants to sell adult beverages during Sunday brunch.

State legislators have penned legislation HB 535, better known as the “Georgia Brunch Bill.” If the bill is passed into law, Georgia restaurants would be able to serve alcohol at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday mornings, instead of waiting until 12:30 p.m.
If the Georgia Brunch Bill passes the Senate and Governor Nathan Deal signs it into law, political pundits estimate brunchers will be able to engage in morning drinking in roughly 60 days.
The bill’s first reader summary:

A BILL to be entitled an Act to amend Title 3 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to alcoholic beverages, so as to provide that governing authorities of counties and municipalities in which the sale of alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises is lawful may authorize sales of such alcoholic beverages during a certain time on Sundays; to change the time on Sunday during which farm wineries may sell certain wine for consumption on the premises; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.

The bill has bi-partisan co-sponsorship from State Representatives Brett Harrell (R, Snellville), Alan Powell (R, Hartwell), Margaret Kaiser (D, Atlanta), Spencer Frye (D, Athens), Allen Peake (R, Macon), and John Pezold (R, Fortson). While the majority of co-sponsors aren’t in the restaurant business, Peake is the co-owner of C&P Restaurant Co., which operates several of Cheddar’s and Captain D’s locations, and Pezold’s Pezold Management operates a number of McDonald’s outposts.
According to The Georgia Restaurant Association, the Georgia Brunch Bill would generate a median increase of $25,000 per year for Georgia restaurants and “drive jobs, tourism, and economic growth in our state.”

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