ATLANTA — Sources told Channel 2 political reporter Lori Geary on Thursday that the issue of Sunday liquor sales is dead for the session after a state Senate caucus.
Georgia is among only three states that ban the Sunday sale of alcohol at stores. Earlier this month, a House panel approved a bill aiming to reverse that.
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The bill, approved on Feb. 9, would have allowed communities to ask voters to decide if they want to allow Sunday sales after 12:30 p.m. It originally only permitted beer and wine sales but was amended to include liquor in areas that already permit the sale of spirits.
Previous efforts to allow Sunday alcohol sales in Georgia have stalled amid a veto threat from former Gov. Sonny Perdue. However, Gov. Nathan Deal has said he would not veto such a measure.
Caucus members held a closed-door meeting to discuss the issue, but it ended without any resolution Wednesday.
"While I support it, I certainly recognize that there's a lot of people who don't support it. If there just isn't the support, there's no need to continue to dwell on it," state Senate Republican majority leader Chip Rogers said.
In January, an exclusive WSB-TV poll, conducted by InsiderAdvantage, showed support for the bill was widely divided by geography. Respondents across Georgia supported the bill by a 52 percent to 40 percent margin, however, when broken apart regionally, there was a clear divide over the proposition.
The poll found 67 percent of metro Atlanta residents favor Sunday liquor sales, with just 23 percent against it. However, in south Georgia the numbers are nearly reversed. The poll showed only 31 percent favor the bill, with 63 percent in opposition. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percent.
InsiderAdvantage CEO Matt Towery said the inclusion of liquor into the bill may be responsible for some of the backlash.
"Things have really changed when you add the liquor part to it. I think that's the reason you're getting the bad reaction, particularly outside metro Atlanta," Towery told Geary.