Wine and Groceries Pt. 2

Wine and Groceries Pt. 2 It is a packed roomin the House State and Local Government Committee. Rep. Curry Todd, R-Memphis, just had the people representing the grocers, wholesalers and retailers to stand up. the wholesalers and retailers outweigh the grocers 3 to 1. We-ve got "Wine is Not Food" stickers or "Red, White and Food" stickers on almost every person in this building. Jaron Springer with the TN Grocers Association is presenting facts. He started off the testimony acknowledging that some believe the bill is dead this year. He is asking them to listen first. The grocers have come with stacks of petitions from supporters, and say they-ve had 10,500 new members sign on since Jan. 1 and point the the recent MTSU poll, which showed 62 percent of people support wine sales in grocery stores. The fiscal review committeehas also determined the change would bring in an extra $16 million to the general fund and an additional $11 million to local governments. Chip Christiansen with the TN Wine and Spirits Association is now giving testimony. He also owns J. Barleycorns here in Nashville. He is pointing out that wine has double the alcohol content than beer. He is pointing out that having alcohol at grocery stores will lead to more underage drinkers and that grocery store clerks lack the training to avoid selling wine to minors. They are telling lawmakers, they have no doubt stores will close and people will lose their jobs should this bill pass. The wholesalers and retailers burst out in applause at the end of the testimony and Chairman Todd had to bang the gavel to get order.