Vote Recommendation | Economic Freedom | Property Rights | Personal Responsibility | Limited Government | Individual Liberty |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Yes | Positive | Neutral | Neutral | Neutral | Positive |
Relating to restrictions
on holders of package store permits.
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
SB 526 would repeal two sections of the Alcoholic Beverage
Code; specifically it would repeal Sections 22.04 and 22.05.
Chapter 22 concerns package store permits. Section 22.04 currently
limits a person from having an interest in more than five package stores. Additionally,
Section 22.05 says if a group of package store permit holders is related within
the first degree of consanguinity, they may consolidate their separate package
store businesses into a single entity. In other words, if a person and his or
her father both hold a package store permit, they may come together to form a
single packaging store entity.
From the perspective of our liberty principles, there is no
reason the government should limit how many package stores a person runs. This
is a clear violation of our free market and individual liberty principles. The current laws interfere in the free market
by giving an edge to certain package store holders by allowing them to
combine into a single entity with other family members.
For example, a large family could easily expand their
package store business if each member of the family holds a package store permit.
The law allows this because these family members are related within the first
degree of consanguinity. Their competitors on the other hand may not be fortunate
enough to have a family that is involved in the alcoholic beverage business.
The example above poses a clear barrier to businesses that cannot expand beyond one packaging store permit holder. Moreover, the current laws pose an unfair competitive advantage to packaging stores that may expand just because they have family in the business. This is clearly the improper role for government to play in the economy.
Because this legislation would remove big government style restrictions that infringe on individual liberty and free markets, we support SB 526.