New Bills Would Change 'Archaic' Ohio Alcohol Rules

Two Ohio lawmakers want to loosen some state restrictions on alcohol.

Rep. John Becker (R-Cincinnati) says Ohio has some archaic, confusing and overly burdensome alcohol laws, and he wants to revisit them.

“They are so convoluted and out of date,” he said. “And anything we can do to reduce these regulations but still allow voter input, and both of these bills do that, is an improvement.”

One piece of bipartisan legislation Becker Democrat John Rogers (D-Mentor-on-the-Lake) and are proposing would make it easier for churches and non-profits to donate alcohol as part of fundraising events without having to obtain permits. 

Becker says the issue came to light months ago when a non-profit he supports raffled off a basket of alcohol. He says most people believe it’s legal to do that and he adds it should be.

Their other bill would allow bars, restaurants and liquor stores to treat Sunday as any other day of the week when it comes to alcohol sales.

“There’s a lot of room for improvement and hopefully these bills will generate some ideas and amendments on other issues to alleviate these problems,” Becker said.

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