Kan. OKs Ending Sunday Liquor Sales Ban

[Amelia]

Kan. OKs Ending Sunday Liquor Sales Ban

By CARL MANNING

Associated Press Writer

Sun May 1,10:36 PM ET

More than two years after a court ruling allowed local governments to defy the state's long-standing ban on Sunday liquor sales, lawmakers passed a bill Sunday to officially remove the prohibition from the books.

The House approved the bill on an 87-34 vote. The Senate then approved it 21-17, sending the measure to Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, who has supported Sunday sales.

The bill preserves the right of cities and counties to allow liquor stores to open on Sunday, except on Easter and Christmas when it falls on that day. Also, local governments gained the right to allow the Sunday sale of low-alcohol beer in groceries and convenience stores.

Local governments would have to act to allow such sales, with a resolution or referendum, for example. Citizens could petition to put the issue on the ballot if they opposed the decision of their elected officials.

"The default position is, 'No Sunday sales unless you opt in,'" said Sen. John Vratil.

The Kansas Constitution had prohibited the sale, manufacturing and consumption of alcohol until 1948, and the Sunday sales ban enacted afterward had been among the most politically durable features of state law.

Two years ago, the state Supreme Court ruled that communities could opt out of the law because it wasn't applied uniformly. As a result, two counties and 23 cities adopted ordinances allowing Sunday sales of package liquor and beer.

Most of those communities are near Missouri, where Sunday sales have been allowed for decades.