The future of selling cold, refrigerated beer in Tennessee could be threatened thanks to a recently introduced bill in the Tennessee Senate.
HB 2845/SB 2636 or, “The Tennessee Prevention of Drunk Driving Act,” aims to prohibit a beer permittee from selling at retail refrigerated alcoholic beverages or cold beer in an attempt to discourage consumers from drunken driving.
The bill was introduced on Jan. 31 by Rep. Ron Gant, R-Piperton, and Sen. Paul Rose, R-Covington, both of which have been involved in previous alcohol related legislation.
In 2023, Rose sponsored SB 1055, which aimed to lower the threshold for enhancing the minimum sentence of a person convicted of driving under the influence of an intoxicant.
Meanwhile, Gant has sponsored HB 0587, HB 2386, HB 2551, HB 2552, and HB 2638 – bills that deal with DUI offenses, executing a search warrant for medical records to determine alcohol or drug content and regulations for the Alcoholic Beverage Commission.
Since being filed for introduction, the new beer bill hasn’t not advanced. It has not yet been scheduled for committee hearings in either the House or Senate.
Plus, the bill is broadly captioned, meaning it could likely change significantly as it moves through the legislative process. A hearing date in House and Senate committees had not yet been set as of Feb. 14.
Gant said he is unsure how the legislation will move through the General Assembly but knows that the drafting of the bill has brought awareness to a problem that’s affected the lives of too many Tennesseans.