Beer and wine in MD grocery stores? Likely not this year.

Although advocates continue to push for the sale of beer and wine in grocery stores, they will likely have to wait until at least next term, says Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson.

“This is one that, in the Ferguson household, is quite contentious and has been for the 16 years I’ve been in office,” said Ferguson, D-Baltimore City, addressing the press Tuesday. “There is tension here that I don’t foresee us this year taking on this issue in a significant way.”

Supporters of a bill sponsored in the House by Del. Marlon Amprey, D-Baltimore City, and in the Senate by Sen. Antonio Hayes, D-Baltimore City, came to Annapolis on Wednesday to call on House and Senate leadership to pass the legislation that would allow beer and wine to be sold in grocery stores.

According to a Wednesday news release from the Consumer Freedom Coalition, Maryland is one of just four states that does not allow for the sale of beer and wine in stores that sell food. 

“Marylanders want the same convenience that residents of other states have,” said Cailey Locklair, president of the Maryland Retailers Alliance. “Grocery stores operate with some of the smallest profit margins in the retail sector, and this change would go a long way toward attracting and retaining stores in our communities.”

At a news conference at Lawyers Mall on Wednesday, Amprey said he brought his bill forth because he was listening to the will of his constituents.

“I listen to single parents; I listen to busy parents — I listen to my wife,” he said. “I listen to those who say, ‘Hey, when I’m out running errands, I need the convenience when I have children with me, or when I have only time for the one stop to be able to get everything in one stop.”

Beyond the convenience of a one-stop-shop, those in favor of the policy believe that passing the legislation could stimulate Maryland’s economy, create jobs and bring in more revenue.

An analysis from the University of Baltimore’s Jacob France Institute estimates that permitting beer and wine sales in grocery stores would poise Maryland to rake in between $4.7 million and $6.6 million should the bill pass.

But Ferguson worries about small family and local businesses going under if grocery stores are able to enter the market.

“Convenience is what Marylanders want. When they are informed as to the potential negative impact on small businesses, they often start to have a bit more complex opinion,” he said. “But I get it. We just have to do it the right way, and I don’t think we’re going to get there this year.”

The director of the Jacob France Institute, Richard Clinch, acknowledges that existing beer, wine and liquor retailers would take a hit.

“However, these costs will be offset by the expanded retail options and potentially lower costs for Maryland residents from the change, and based on the experience of other states that have permitted grocery store sales, the beer, wine and liquor retailers sector can be expected to recover,” he said in a statement Wednesday.

Both Hayes’ and Amprey’s bills have had hearings. It’s unclear if they will be voted out of their respective committees. If passed and signed by Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, both bills would go into effect July 1.

If not this year, there could be hope for the legislation in those to come.

“I do think, probably in the next term, we’re going to have to figure out some sort of compromise here,” Ferguson said.