Cold beer bill OK'd by House but may be shelved until next session

OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma’s “cold beer act” is going back in the cooler for a while.

Senate Bill 383, by Sen. Stephanie Bice, R-Oklahoma City, passed the House of Representatives 68-21 on Wednesday and is headed for a conference committee, where it is expected to stay until next session.

“Going into conference until next session” is often a euphemism for “going away and not coming back,” but in this case, it probably isn’t. Legislators appear keen to fashion some meaningful alcohol reform legislation from SB 383 before someone with an initiative petition beats them to it.

“There is a great demand for changes to our liquor laws,” said House sponsor Glen Mulready, R-Tulsa. “If we don’t institute those here in the Legislature, we’re probably going to see someone with an initiative petition and we’ll have no control over that.”

SB 383 started out as a bill to allow liquor stores to sell refrigerated beer, but it has become a vehicle for eliminating the state’s 80-year-old distinction between “nonintoxicating” and regular beer.

Oklahoma legalized sales of nonintoxicating beer, defined as no more than 3.2 percent alcohol by weight, in 1933, but no other forms of alcohol for general consumption until 1959. With the proper license, just about any establishment can sell 3.2 beer, but only liquor stores can sell “strong” beer for off-premises consumption — and then only at room temperature.

Some national retailers have pressed for years to sell strong beer, as well as wine and spirits, in grocery stores and other retail outlets but with no success. SB 383 addresses only beer, Mulready said Wednesday.

Mulready said Oklahoma is one of only five states that still mandate low-point beer for nonliquor store sales.

The opposition was led by Rep. Todd Russ, R-Cordell, who has been among the driest of the House drys during his two-plus terms. Russ warned that the Legislature is creating a public safety hazard by slowly chipping away at the state’s liquor laws. He was joined by 19 of his fellow Republicans and one Democrat, Ed Cannaday of Porum, in voting against the bill.

Forty-nine Republicans and 19 Democrats voted for the measure. Eight members did not vote, and two seats are vacant.

Also adopted by the House was SB 424, by Sen. Brian Crain, R-Tulsa, which would allow breweries to sell their products on their own premises.

Elsewhere in the House: House membership will remain at 99, down two from the usual 101, for the rest of the session. Rep. Kevin Matthews, D-Tulsa, was sworn in as the new senator from District 11 on Wednesday, and Rep. David Dank, R-Oklahoma City, died unexpectedly last week.

Funeral services for Dank are Thursday.

Both members will be replaced by special election but not until after the current session. The vacancies will make passing legislation slightly harder because 51 votes will still be needed for passage even though the body is effectively smaller.

Representatives were to privately tour the Oklahoma City National Memorial on Wednesday evening and open Thursday’s session with a resolution commemorating the 20th anniversary of the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Building.