In its meeting on Tuesday, the Senate Finance, Ways and Means Committee created a subcommittee to get all interested parties together to discuss possible amendments to the wine in retail food stores referendum bill.

Showing a desire to continue the bill’s momentum in the Senate, the subcommittee held this meeting earlier today. Representatives from the Tennessee Grocers & Convenience Store Association, Tennessee Wine & Spirits Retailers Association, Tennessee Malt Beverage Association, Tennessee Fuel & Convenience Store Association, and other interested parties attended to discuss their opinions with this group of legislators.

Amendments were brought up on such issues as delaying the ability for retail food stores to obtain licenses until 2016 in those municipalities that passed the referendum, the ability for liquor stores to sell other items and allowing high-gravity beer to be part of the bill as well as wine.

We are glad to see continued movement in the Senate, as we still see this as good legislation that can be made comprehensive for all sides.

Also, thanks to all of you for your support, especially these past few days. We share your extreme disappointment with the House Local Government Committee’s voting against the bill.

There is always the possibility that a committee can reconsider a bill it has voted down. We are hoping this option will be discussed by the House Local Government Committee, considering the circumstances of the vote and the slim margin.

With that in mind, please always remember to be respectful and professional when contacting your legislators. Showing a positive image is the best way to garner their support.

Today the Senate State and Local Government Committee voted to pass legislation that would allow local referendums on the sale of wine in Tennessee’s retail food stores.

Read a statement from Jarron Springer, Tennessee Grocers & Convenience Store Association president, about the outcome of today’s vote:

“This is a great day for Tennessee consumers. The Senate State and Local Government Committee has passed the wine in retail food stores bill, which is the first step in giving Tennesseans the right to vote on where they buy wine in their communities.

“Lt. Governor Ron Ramsey showed great leadership today to move this bill forward and continue the conversation of giving consumers the right to vote on this issue.

“As Sen. Bill Ketron, the sponsor of the legislation, stated before the vote today, we are open to working with retail package stores to draw up a bill that is amenable to all parties.

“Communities already approve liquor-by-the-drink and retail package stores by referendum, so having the same process for wine in retail food stores just makes sense. The fact that the Senate committee – the first group of legislators to vote on the bill this year – sees the value of placing local control in the hands of the voters makes us optimistic for the path of this legislation.

“We feel strongly that, if individuals are given the opportunity to vote on this issue, we will see wine on the shelves of Tennessee’s retail food stores.”

We are thankful for the majority support from the senators who voted to give constituents, and other Tennesseans, the right to decide where they buy wine in their communities.

Below is the list of legislators in the Senate committee and how they voted on the legislation. Please take a minute to call or email the legislators in the Senate committee who voted “yes,” as well as Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, and thank them for looking out for Tennessee consumers.

• Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, (615) 741-4524, lt.gov.ron.ramsey@capitol.tn.gov
• Voted “yes”:
o Sen. Janice Bowling, (615) 741-6694, sen.janice.bowling@capitol.tn.gov
o Sen. Mark Green, (615) 741-2374, sen.mark.green@capitol.tn.gov
o Sen. Jack Johnson, (615) 741-2495, sen.jack.johnson@capitol.tn.gov
o Sen. Bill Ketron, (615) 741-6853, sen.bill.ketron@capitol.tn.gov
*Sen. Ketron is the bill’s sponsor in the Senate.
o Sen. Reginald Tate, (615) 741-2509, sen.reginald.tate@capitol.tn.gov
• Voted “no”:
o Sen. Thelma Harper
o Sen. Mark Norris
o Sen. John Stevens
o Sen. Ken Yager

We look forward to the upcoming challenges of the House Local Government Subcommittee vote. We will provide additional details about that meeting when they become available.

Thank you for your support.

We have a big week of legislative activity coming up.

The Senate State and Local Government Committee will hold a hearing in Legislative Plaza, Room 12, on Monday, Feb. 25, at 3 p.m. CST about the wine in retail food stores bill. This will be followed by the committee’s vote the next morning at 10:30 a.m. in the same room.

The House Local Government Committee will also hold its hearing in Legislative Plaza, Room 30, on Tuesday, Feb. 26, at noon.

This is the time to contact your legislators and let them know that you support the referendum bill that would allow local communities to decide where wine can be sold.

Your legislators want to know how their constituents feel about the sale of wine in retail food stores and that they support the local referendum bill. We know many of you have reached out to your legislators before, but it’s time to contact them again before they vote on this issue.

To find your personal legislators and their contact information, go to http://www.legislature.state.tn.us/legislators/. Then, call or email them with (1) why you support wine in retail food stores and (2) why it’s important that they give you the right to vote at the local level on this issue.

It’s so important to legislators that they hear from individuals in their districts, so please make sure to mention that you are a constituent!

P.S. If you would like to attend any or all of these legislative meetings – and we hope you will, email us at info@redwhiteandfood.com and we’ll send you directions.

Happy New Year, Red White and Food! We hope you’re ready to help pass this legislation to allow wine sales in retail food stores. We’ve never been closer. Proposed legislation will offer a local referendum option, meaning you will get to vote on whether your community allows the sale of wine in retail food stores.

Amid your family gatherings and parties over the holidays, you may have seen that wine in retail food stores drummed up even more media coverage across the state.

A Tennessean article about key legislative issues for 2013 that spurred much discussion in recent weeks quoted Chip Christianson, owner of J. Barleycorn’s in Nashville and former president of the Tennessee Wine and Spirits Retailers Association, as saying the following about the proposed wine legislation: “This is 100 percent pushed by the grocers. … Polls, schmolls. There’s no groundswell of people trying to get this done.”

Unfortunately, he gets a lump of coal from us for his comments, because we know that’s just not the case.

Sorry, Chip, but we have nearly 30,000 Tennesseans signed up at www.redwhiteandfood.com who say differently. These same consumers continually ask their legislators when they’ll be able to buy wine at grocery and convenience stores, and they contact us about what they can do to help make this a reality.

So, we want to take this time to say that we are so appreciative of the very real “groundswell of people” – all of you – who actively and vocally support the campaign.

As advocates, one of the most important things you can do is familiarize yourself with the opposition’s arguments and be prepared to knock them down. One example: Our opponents often cite increased underage drinking as a potential harm of allowing wine sales in retail food stores. However, reports such as Cornell University’s 2011 study of the issue show that increased availability of wine would have no significant effect. (See Table 1 of the study.)

Look for more examples from us as we launch into the legislative session. The legislative committees will be announced in a few days, so you’ll hear from us soon about what this means for the campaign’s momentum.

Until then, thanks as always.

It’s been a great couple of weeks for the Red White and Food campaign in the media, and it all started with the Associated Press story that came out Sunday, Dec. 2, in which Speaker Beth Harwell and Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey expressed their support for legislation to allow the sale of wine in retail food stores.

If you haven’t already, you can read The Tennessean’s article at http://tnne.ws/TXPi7V.

Positive coverage for wine in retail food stores has shown up in articles and TV broadcasts, not just statewide, but in media outlets as far away as Washington, D.C., and Seattle!

Here are a few of the highlights closer to home:
• Chattanooga Times Free Press editorial in support of wine in retail food stores: http://bit.ly/YxG7lZ
• Gail Kerr’s Tennessean column toasting Speaker Harwell and Lt. Gov. Ramsey for their support of the wine in retail food stores legislation: http://tnne.ws/RC2a8n

Our followers have built on this momentum by sending more than 1,000 messages of thanks to Speaker Harwell and Lt. Gov. Ramsey, as well as more than 400 messages to Sen. Bill Ketron, who, along with Rep. Jon Lundberg, is sponsoring legislation that would give Tennesseans the opportunity to vote on wine in retail food stores.

For those of you who haven’t had a chance to vocalize your support to these legislators, please go to http://foodaction.net/tgcsa/default.aspx, customize the messages with your personal information and send away.

In the meantime, happy holidays from Red White and Food!

Red White and Food Members,

Early voting starts Wednesday, Oct. 17, and that’s the first day that Tennesseans can vote for candidates who support the sale of wine in retail food stores. If you don’t know where the legislative candidates in your district stand on the issue, now is the time to ask them.

Early voting runs until Thursday, Nov. 1, and Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 6.

If you have talked with your candidates about the sale of wine in retail food stores, please share feedback via email at info@redwhiteandfood.com, or on Red White and Food’s Facebook and Twitter pages.

Please make your vote count. Your participation in the election process is very important, and your vote could make all the difference in the wine in retail food stores debate.

We’ll be in touch after Election Day with updates about Tennessee races. Don’t forget to share any intelligence you gather between now and Nov. 6.

Thanks for your support,

The Red White and Food Team

Need to know more about the election?

• If you reside in a district that ends in an even number, both your state senator and your state representative are up for re-election. If you reside in an odd-numbered district, your state representative is up for re-election. For more information about the elections and candidates in your district, visit the Tennessee state government election website.

• View a list of all Tennessee candidates whose names will appear on the Nov. 6 ballot, by district.

• To learn who currently represents you in the state legislature, visit http://www.capitol.tn.gov/legislators/.

 Red White and Food Members,

January 2013 marks the beginning of a new Tennessee General Assembly and an opportunity to renew the push for the sale of wine in retail food stores.

On Thursday, Aug. 2, registered voters will have the opportunity to cast their ballots for state primary and county general elections. Your participation in the election process is very important – the 2012 state legislative elections will determine whether we can pass legislation in 2013 that will finally allow Tennesseans to purchase wine where they shop for food.

Action Items:
1)      Cast your vote on Aug. 2 (or during early voting, which ends on July 28).

2)      Prior to the Nov. 6 general election, get to know the legislative candidates in your district and find out if
they support the sale of wine in retail food stores. Attend events in your community, ask questions and
get involved.

3)      Share what you learn about the candidates. Use Red White & Food’s Facebook and Twitter pages
to tell us (and your fellow RWF members) where candidates stand, and start the conversation for
change in 2013.

We’re not giving up the fight to rewrite Tennessee’s archaic liquor laws. Get out and vote.

Thanks for your support,
The Red White & Food Team

*******

Need to know more about the election?

If you reside in a district that ends in an even number, both your state senator and your state representative are up for re-election. If you reside in an odd-numbered district, your state representative is up for re-election.

For more information about the elections and candidates in your district, visit the Tennessee state government election website.

To learn who currently represents you in the state legislature, visit http://www.capitol.tn.gov/legislators/.

Jarron Springer, TGCSA President

The following statement can be attributed to Jarron Springer, president of the Tennessee Grocers & Convenience Store Association

“The Tennessee Grocers & Convenience Store Association remains committed to the effort to change Tennessee’s antiquated liquor laws to allow for the sale of wine in retail food stores. We are in business to serve our customers, and they have told us time and again that they want to purchase wine where they shop for food.

“As you may have heard, we are at an impasse with the legislature, and the ‘wine in retail food stores’ bill will not be heard this year. The makeup of the Senate State & Local Government Committee and the House State & Local Government Committee has not changed in some time, and a majority of the current members are not eager to vote for our bill. Everyone knows that if the bill were to be heard by the full legislature, it would pass.

“In the months to come, we ask that you get to know who represents you in the legislature. Please press legislative candidates for their position on the issue of wine in retail food stores, and vote accordingly. When possible, Red White and Food will share information about the candidates to help you make an informed decision prior to Election Day.

“To the 27,000-plus members of Red White and Food, we thank you for your support. We are confident the issue of wine in retail food stores will be back in 2013. We’re not giving up, and we hope you will join us in our continued fight to give consumers what they want – the ability to purchase wine where they shop for food.”

Today has been rife with rumors and misleading updates regarding the issue of wine sales in retail food stores. We’re here to set the record straight. Opponents of wine in retail food stores will do whatever it takes to kill any bill that might remove liquor stores’ monopoly on wine sales. In this case, they are anxious to lead the public to believe that our campaign is giving up. That is not the case.

While our opponents are correct to say that no companion bill has been filed with Rep. Jon Lundberg’s HB 2874, there is already a bill that provides a vehicle to achieve our goal. Sen. Bill Ketron and Rep. Lundberg filed legislation last year (SB 318/HB 560) that is a “referendum bill.” This legislation, which is alive and well, would allow individual municipalities to decide whether wine should be sold in retail food stores.

Although we face a battle as we fight for votes from elected officials with strong ties to the liquor lobby, please do not listen to misleading news from the opposition. If anything, raise your voices even louder and continue to contact members of the Senate State and Local Government Committee the House State and Local Government Committee and demand that they listen to the 69 percent of Tennesseans who support wine in retail food stores.

Ultimately, this is not over. We will continue to fight until Tennesseans get what they want – the ability to buy wine where they shop for food.

In an editorial this week, The Leaf-Chronicle stated its support for a referendum to allow Tennessee voters to decide whether they want wine in grocery stores. The Leaf-Chronicle sees it as “a democratic process that permits the residents to choose their own standards.”

“As we’ve said before, the government shouldn’t be in the position of protecting one business’ interests over another. The referendum process would put the matter into the hands of the people to decide how best to handle it in the communities where they live.”

Read the full editorial here. Be sure to leave a comment letting The Leaf-Chronicle know that you agree!