Florida Gov. Rick Scott has vetoed a state Senate bill authorizing the sale of alcoholic beverages in grocery stores and grocery stores, not just, as has been the case in specialized stores.
“I have carefully reviewed the law and met with stakeholders on both sides … and I have heard concerns about how this law could affect many small businesses” in the state, Scott said in his order, issued in Wednesday night.
I explain that, as a former small business owner, he understands the store owners’ concern about the “impact” of applying this law on their families and the “ability to create jobs.”
For “these reasons” he vetoed the government order and withdrew his “approval of law 106”.
Thus, the veto of the governor prevents the abolition of controversial law in force, which forces the sale of alcoholic beverages in separate establishments of supermarkets and grocery stores.
Leading retailers such as Wal-Mart and Target had lobbied in recent years for a bill to end this law dating back to the “Age of Prohibition” of alcohol, the Orlando Sentinel newspaper reported.
“There is a clear push in Florida from this common-sense approach to the sale of alcoholic beverages,” Michael Williams, a spokesperson for Floridians for Fair Business Practices, a support group backed by Wal-Mart and Target, told reporters.
“We look forward to working with state leaders in the future to finally end this outdated ‘Prohibition Era’ law,” Williams said.
