SAN ANTONIO – A new bill signed by Gov. Greg Abbott will allow retailers like grocery and convenience stores to sell beer and wine starting at 10 a.m. on Sundays instead of noon starting Sept. 1.
Abbott signed HB 1518 in May, which relates to the sale of alcohol at hotels, but one of the provisions also expands alcohol sales on Sundays.
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Expanded hours for alcohol sales will be from 10 a.m. to midnight on Sundays. Grocery and convenience stores can also sell beer and wine from 7 a.m. to midnight Monday through Friday and from 7 a.m. to 1 a.m. on Saturday night/Sunday morning.
Originally Senate Bill 585 sought to change the hours that alcohol can be sold by retailers but the signing of HB 1518 renders that bill obsolete.
Abbott also signed a bill to permanently allow the sale of alcohol with take-out orders from restaurants. Beer, wine and mixed drinks can be included with food orders. Read more on that here.
The sale of liquor is still prohibited in stores on Sundays but is allowed on other days from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. except on Christmas Day, Thanksgiving Day and New Year’s Day.
The prohibited sale of liquor on Sundays dates back to 1935 when, according to the Dallas Morning News, the Texas Legislature passed the Texas Liquor Control Act in response to the repeal of Prohibition.
The majority of these “blue laws,” as they are sometimes referred to, were abolished in 1985. These laws limited the sale of certain goods on Sundays but both liquor and car sales are still not allowed on Sundays, according to the Texas Tribune.
According to the Distilled Spirits Council, 38 states and the District of Columbia allow some form of off-premise retail sales of spirits on Sundays.