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,

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/.

As the Tennessee General Assembly reconvened in Nashville last week, I imagine some of our legislators triumphantly returning to the Capitol in a manner similar to Randy Quaid’s character in Independence Day. It’s sure to be another exciting session – one that we’ll be following closely.

Tuesday marked the official start of session for the Tennessee General Assembly and the sixth consecutive session during which bills would be filed to allow wine sales in Tennessee retail food stores. Will 2012 be the year?

We are closer than ever – each year, the Red White and Food campaign and its more than 26,000 members help spread the word about the issue, contact elected officials and submit letters to the editors of their local newspapers. Let’s keep up the momentum!

Just last week, the Washington Post reported on new research that found that “states where wine makes up a larger part of total alcohol consumption tend to have lower rates of traffic fatalities.”

And just to recap for our new readers, the main reasons we believe Tennesseans should support wine sales in Tennessee retail food stores are:

1. Consumer choice – Consumers should be allowed to choose where they buy their wine. Visitors to Tennessee repeatedly ask “Where’s the wine?” as they wander the aisles of our grocery stores.
2. Convenience – Consumers should not have to make an extra trip to pick up a bottle of wine to enjoy with dinner. Wine is a logical complement to groceries.
3. Competition – Competition is healthy and levels the playing field. Consumers should not be imprisoned by liquor store and distributor prices. “Just say no” to monopolies.
4. State revenue –The estimated fiscal impact of wine sales in retail food stores according to the Tennessee General Assembly Fiscal Review Committee would be $13 million in state revenue and $9 million in local revenue. In addition, residents in border cities have a choice as to where they purchase their groceries and wine, and often cross into Arkansas or Georgia for the lower prices and better selection. Last year, a retail store chose to build in Georgia instead of Chattanooga, Tenn., because it could sell wine there!
5. Responsible sales – Retail food stores are required to card for alcohol sales to all consumers.

Many of our opponents claim that allowing wine sales in Tennessee retail food stores will only increase instances of underage drinking and drunk driving. While we want to know how many 18-year-olds want to drink (or can afford) wine at their parties, the statistics are on our side:

• New research last week in the Washington Post – read it here.
• According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, states without wine in grocery stores had an average of 8.2 youth DUIs per 100,000 residents, while states that allowed wine in grocery stores had an average of 6.8 per 100,000 residents.
• The FBI also found that states allowing wine sales in retail food stores had an average of 21.7 fewer youth liquor violations per 100,000 residents than states without wine in grocery stores.

We look forward to a lively session and encourage you to keep up the good fight. As always, here are a few ways you can participate in the Red White and Food campaign:

• Voice
• Submit a letter to your state legislators asking them to support wine sales in retail food stores.
• Submit a letter to the editor to your local newspaper.
• Write a blog post about the issue. Be sure to send us a link on Facebook or Twitter if you do – we may even add you to our blogroll!

• Join
• Visit www.redwhiteandfood.com to become a Red White and Food member.
• Work with the Red White and Food campaign team to spread the word in your community. Email us to volunteer.

• Share
• Encourage your friends and family members to join too. Educate them about the issue.
• Follow us on Twitter.
• Like us on Facebook.

As always, thank you for your support!

Cheers!
The Red White and Food Team

In December, we posted about the Johnson City Press asking readers for their opinion on wine in grocery stores. The response must have been great–the Johnson City Press ran several responses it received in its Dec. 28 edition. You can view them here.

Keep it up, Tri-City residents! Keep that supportive feedback coming–send it to your local papers and your state elected officials.

A week after sharing her opinion about Nashville’s archaic beer laws, Tennessean columnist Gail Kerr continued to wade through the sludge of Tennessee’s unfair alcohol regulations. On Dec. 26, Kerr took a look at an issue that has garnered the support of more than 26,000 Tennesseans over the past few years: wine sales in retail food stores.

Red White and Food member (and new mom) Meredith Hunter spoke with Kerr on the issue saying:

“It’s a hassle to get in the car and drive to another location. It wastes time and gas and adds extra stress to everyday errands. The prospect of multiple stops is now more of a problem for me because I have a newborn. Going to the store for essentials has turned into a production, so these days, I critically evaluate whether an extra stop is really worth it. The liquor lobby has been loudly and insistently making their desires known for decades, and I’m sick of our legislators only listening to one agenda.”

Thank you, Meredith, for voicing an opinion that reflects the sentiment of thousands of your fellow Tennesseans. Here’s to hoping our elected officials pay attention to their constituents this session – cheers!

Read Gail Kerr’s full column here.

Voting will close  on Monday at noon for this year’s Flat Winnie contest. The winner will get a $150 gift certificate.

Make sure to vote.

Go here to see the entries and cast your vote.