Daudt: Sunday liquor sales has 50-50 chance of clearing House

Minnesota House Speaker Kurt Daudt said Friday that a measure to repeal the state's ban on Sunday sales is guaranteed to come up on the house floor, and when it does, it has a more significant chance of passing than in previous years.

Daudt, R-Crown, has changed his position and is now in support of Sunday liquor sales—a move that was considered a game-changer among advocates for the repeal. He told Minnesota Public Radio (Listen here at 28-minute mark) that a full repeal of the 80-year-old prohibition is certain to come up as an amendment to the current omnibus liquor bill, which currently contains no Sunday sales repeal. The House Commerce Committee this week held an informational hearing on a Sunday sales repeal, but no vote was taken.

"When that bill comes to the floor, I guarantee there will be an amendment on the floor to add in Sunday liquor sales," Daudt said. "That vote has happened almost like clockwork the last few years."

The measure would need 68 votes to pass the House.

"It has a 50-50 shot of getting added," as an amendment, Daudt said. "If it does get added, I believe it will become law."

Despite growing public support, the Minnesota Licensed Beverage Association has long pushed back against a repeal, saying liquor store owners would be forced to stay open to keep up with the competition, increasing overhead costs but not profits. Daudt said his position used to hinge on input from liquor store owners, until he began hearing more frequently from the public in favor of Sunday Sales. Still, he won't pressure his caucus to vote one way or another.