Arkansas has joined 36 other states that have repealed "Blue Laws" that prohibit Sunday liquor sales, according to the Washington-based Distilled Spirits Council (DSC). The bill's sponsor, state Sen. Robert Thompson, says the legislation's purpose is to increase state revenue.

The bill, which Gov. Mike Beebe signed into law on March 3, allows individual communities to vote whether liquor stores in their areas would be allowed to open their doors on Sundays. "[The bill] increases the fees that sellers of alcohol have to pay for licenses," Thompson told a local television news station. "That money will be used for additional alcohol enforcement to restrict the sale of alcohol to minors."

DSC expects more states to repeal their Blue Laws as governments seek to increase tax revenues. Alabama, Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and West Virginia are the only states that still have the Prohibition-era laws on their books, according to DSC.

More information is available at http://www.discus.org/media/press/article.asp?NEWS_ID=527.