Governor to sign Sunday alcohol sales bill Wednesday

Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb will sign the bill legalizing Sunday alcohol sales for carryout in a ceremony to be streamed live Wednesday on Facebook, his office said.

Holcomb is scheduled to sign Senate Bill 1, which allows Sunday carryout sales between noon and 8 p.m. by grocers, convenience stores and liquor stores. The 1:30 p.m. ceremony will be streamed on the governor’s Facebook page.

The governor’s signature will put an immediate end to a ban on Sunday carryout alcohol sales, which dates to the aftermath of Prohibition’s repeal. That means Hoosiers will be able to begin buying carryout alcohol from retail stores this Sunday.

Among those scheduled to join the governor for the ceremony is State Sen. Ron Alting, R-Lafayette, who had blocked Sunday sales bills in his committee in years past but allowed the effort to go forward this year.

Here's what Indiana's alcohol laws really say

Alting’s change of heart came after the liquor store industry, which has consistently opposed Sunday sales, struck a deal with the state’s large retail grocery stores. The pact called for both groups to accept Sunday sales but oppose efforts to loosen the liquor store industry’s virtual monopoly on cold beer. 

Call Robert King at (317) 444-6089. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter.