Md. lawmakers consider permitting third-party alcohol deliveries

Maryland might soon allow local liquor stores to contract with companies like DoorDash and Instacart for delivery services, though public health organizations have raised concerns about how the policy might exacerbate mental health and substance-use issues.

The state’s local liquor boards have the authority to permit liquor stores to deliver to customers, though only using their own employees.

Since last session, delivery companies have pushed for the ability to partner with liquor stores in Maryland.

“Consumers want delivery, we see it every day,” DoorDash spokesman Chad Horrell said during a legislative hearing Monday, adding that 31 states already allow the practices in some form.

Horrell said his company has seen local liquor stores increase their sales after contracting with third-party companies, and DoorDash drivers — or “dashers” — earn more when working in a jurisdiction that permits alcohol delivery.

The bill that DoorDash supports wouldn’t immediately allow third-party alcohol delivery statewide. Rather, it would give discretion to local officials over whether to allow the practice in their jurisdiction and how to regulate it.

“It’s not going to be overnight,” Caitlin McDonough, an Annapolis lobbyist with Harris Jones & Malone representing DoorDash, said during the hearing. “But it does put smaller liquor stores on par with larger liquor stores who may have the ability to have a full delivery staff.”

Delivery companies would have to pay $1,000 annually for a permit from the local liquor board in each jurisdiction in which they operate, said House Ways and Means Committee Chair Vanessa Atterbeary, who’s sponsoring the proposal in her chamber.

Permitted companies would contract with local liquor stores to serve as their delivery service, though they’d be prohibited from delivering across county lines, storing their own inventory or delivering for businesses only licensed for on-site consumption.

While some third-party delivery companies, like DoorDash, may use geofencing to track a customer’s location and ensure they can only order from a liquor store in their county, lawmakers are expected to grant the state Office of the Comptroller the authority to enforce the requirement.

Delivery drivers and customers would have to be 21 years or older, with the latter likely having to upload their driver’s license or other identification to the platform through which they’re ordering.

Policing alcohol deliveries would still be “far and away more difficult than enforcing it at the brick and mortar store,” J. Steven Wise, a lobbyist with Schwartz, Metz, Wise & Kauffman representing the Maryland State Licensed Beverage Association, said during the hearing.

The State Licensed Beverage Association supported the bill and the fact that local governments would have oversight of the new law.

Law enforcement officers can regularly check whether brick-and-mortar liquor stores are selling to underaged customers. Ensuring companies don’t deliver to underaged customers might require officers to place orders under cover.

No individuals or organizations testified against Atterbeary’s proposal during Monday’s hearing, and written testimony wasn’t immediately available.

In written testimony against a version of Atterbeary’s bill last session, the Maryland Public Health Association stated that delivery drivers don’t have any incentive to not deliver alcohol, given their reliance on tips and the potential for losing paid time while returning a product. The association cited reports that found delivery services were less effective in catching underaged customers than in-person purchases.

The association also referenced studies showing that alcohol delivery service customers tend to be heavy drinkers and have used the service to continue drinking sessions they might have otherwise ended, potentially exacerbating someone’s mental health or substance-use disorder.

Similarly, the Maryland-DC Society of Addiction Medicine stated in written testimony that making alcohol available for delivery would increase the rate of “hazardous or harmful” alcohol use.

The organizations both stated in their testimony that, with mental health and substance-use issues becoming more prevalent during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing access to alcohol presents concerns for public health professionals and communities.