OKLAHOMA CITY — Restaurant customers would be able to pick up cocktails to go or have the restaurant deliver them under a measure that passed a Senate panel on Tuesday.
House Bill 2122, dubbed the “Oklahoma Cocktails To Go Act of 2021,” passed the Senate Business, Commerce and Tourism Committee by a vote of 10-3.
It now heads to the Senate floor for consideration.
Sen. Bill Coleman, R-Ponca City, said the measure would benefit the restaurant industry, which was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Coleman is the Senate author of the measure.
Several restaurants temporarily closed but then reopened to provide curbside delivery and limited seating before fully reopening.
“For me, it sure seems safer to take the cocktail home than (consume it) on premises,” Coleman said.
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The restaurant employee would have to verify that the customer is at least 21 years old.
The measure would apply to mixed drinks and wine.
If the customer were determined to be intoxicated, the order would be canceled, according to the measure.
The beverages would have to be placed in a sealed container in the trunk or the vehicle’s rear compartment, according to the measure.
The measure would prohibit third-party delivery.
Sen. George Young, D-Oklahoma City, said the bill is probably considered progress, but he said he was concerned that there was not a proper way for the person delivering the cocktail to determine whether the customer had already consumed too much. But he said he would support the bill.
