Illegal Sunday Sales Remain An Issue

It’s been nearly three years since significant changes were made to Ohio’s Sunday sales laws, yet illegal Sunday sales continue to be one of the most cited violations by permit holders.
Legislation passed in 2021 more or less standardized Sunday sales, allowing holders of D-6 permits, as well as contract liquor agencies, to sell beer, wine, mixed beverages and spirituous liquor on Sunday during the same hours they may sell Monday through Saturday. It also amended local option questions to eliminate the varying Sunday starting hours included in previous law. Additionally, petitioners seeking to put a Sunday sales question on the ballot now just need to collect 50 valid signatures rather than the previous requirement of 35 percent of the vote total in the most recent gubernatorial election.
The idea was to simplify what was a confusing and burdensome set of rules governing Sunday sales. And for the most part, that goal was accomplished.
Yet citations for illegal Sunday sales are still being issued and the Liquor Control Commission is still finding the majority of those cited permit holders in violation. The reason is very simple: Without exception, the permit holders being cited for Sunday sales violations are those that have failed, or refused, to acquire a D-6 permit.
According to the Ohio Division of Liquor Control, a D-6 permit is required for Sunday sales of any alcohol except beer. The D-6 is not a standalone permit, and may only be issued to holders of class D or C permits. Additionally, a location must be “wet” for Sunday sales before a D-6 permit may be issued.
The main takeaway is that selling alcohol on Sundays is different from selling it Monday through Saturday because an additional permit is needed (except for holders of C-1 permits selling beer only) and knowledge of the premises’ wet/dry status is necessary.
The fee for a D-6 permit issued to the holder of a C-2 permit is $400 a year; the fee is $500 annually when the D-6 is issued to a class D permit holder. By comparison, the typical fine issued by the Liquor Commission for a Sunday sales violation is $300; more if the illegal sale is coupled with another violation or is facilitated by a repeat offense.
So, a first-time offender might think paying the $300 fine is a more economical decision than paying $400 or $500 for the D-6 permit. Get caught again, though, and you’re down $100 or $200. And the bill keeps getting bigger if more offenses occur.
It’s understandable that in the current business climate permit holders are looking for ways to save money, and forgoing an additional liquor permit might be one way to do it.
Yet would you drive your car without a license? Probably not. So why take the risk of selling on Sunday without the proper license? The odds of getting caught are pretty good and the ramifications eventually could have an impact on the bottom line.