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CPSA News: A Clear Focus Toward 2024

By November 26, 2023Connecticut, Top News, Association Talk

Sean Hughes, Account Director, Connecticut Package Stores Association.

By Sean Hughes

With the last and busiest month of 2023 upon us, it is time to reflect on another eventful year and prepare for our next journey around the sun. While this year brought about new and radical challenges for many, one battle very familiar to the independent retail liquor industry—the push for wine sales in supermarkets—returned with a vengeance.

There is no question that the reinvigorated campaign by supermarkets and farm wineries was the year’s biggest issue. However, the Connecticut Package Stores Association (CPSA) was simultaneously working on several additional issues that, without intervention, would have had a major impact on the industry, including the establishment of “high THC” products, the ability to auction rare alcoholic beverages, an attempt to include spirits-based beverages in the state’s bottle bill and an amendment that would have allowed wineries to establish multiple retail locations with few stipulations. Through its work with legislators, the Department of Consumer Protection and industry partners, CPSA was able to defeat or amend legislation to ensure that the best interests of independently owned retail package stores were protected.

In the fight against the sale of wine in food stores, CPSA and other industry members were up against the Connecticut Food Association (CFA), which represents most of the supermarkets in the state. This year, CFA invested in a major public relations campaign to solicit support from the public for the bill that would allow them to sell wine. Their goal was to overwhelm legislators with correspondence from their constituents asking them to support the legislation that would allow this. To their credit, they did generate more written support than in years past.

Thankfully, their campaign was not enough to overcome the grassroots effort from the retail liquor industry—including store owners, wholesalers, manufacturers and customers—that showed up at the Legislative Office Building in person on the day of the public hearing on the bill. Weeks later, the bill was officially defeated when it was not voted out of the General Law Committee before its deadline. It was learned that there was not enough support among committee members for its passage, nor among the entire legislature, many of whom own or are strongly supportive of independent, locally owned businesses.

This year’s defeat of the bill that would have allowed for the sale of wine in food stores was not a fluke. CPSA and its partners in the industry have been battling this and other major issues for decades. Those who have been fighting these fights know that a win is and has never been guaranteed. It requires advocacy and hard work every day of the year, especially leading up to and during the legislative session.

Each year presents a new challenge and, with it, newly elected legislators and a clean slate for our opposition to influence. Going into 2024, we are already seeing the beginnings of a renewed push by supermarkets for wine sales. Advocates of the issue have already enlisted the help of top PR firms to build on last year’s campaign. CPSA is also expecting a battle to amend the grocery beer permit in a way that would allow big-box stores such as Target and Walmart to sell beer.

Additionally, a strong push has recently been made by some environmentalists and municipal leaders to ban alcohol miniatures or “nips” on a town-by-town basis. The proposed change would grant individual municipalities the option to ban the sale of nips by way of referendum, like what has been done by some towns in Massachusetts. Towns in Massachusetts that have banned the sale of nips have seen a reduction in litter, but it has not completely disappeared. Towns bordering those who have enacted a ban experienced increased sales, some of which are likely being brought back into the town where they are banned.

Currently, while Connecticut towns cannot ban a certain type of liquor from being sold, they can vote to ban the sale of all liquor. While discussions around nip bottle litter and bans have been raised before, the House Chair of the Environment Committee has openly mentioned municipal bans as the subject of legislation for 2024.

With another year of successfully defending Connecticut’s independent retail liquor industry in the rearview, CPSA is already hard at work, as always, advocating on behalf of its members. With the support of our members and our partners, Connecticut can continue to lead as a supporter of local, small businesses that greatly benefit the consumers and residents of our state.

Find out more about any of these issues and the benefits of membership at ctpsa.com.

 

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