Governor Dannel Malloy is again proposing legislation to make liquor prices in Connecticut competitive with neighboring states, despite the failure of similar proposals in the past.
Malloy wants to change a 1981 Connecticut law that forces the owners of certain retail stores to sell alcoholic beverages at artificial prices set by their liquor distributors. Malloy says this is against free market principles and it prevents retailers from passing along discounts they receive from their liquor distributors onto consumers.
According to the Democratic governor, Connecticut is the only state in the nation that has such an arcane law.
State officials have said stores in neighboring states, including Massachusetts, take advantage of this to get Connecticut residents to drive across the border and buy liquor at significantly lower prices.
Malloy’s proposal would modify the state law to allow small business owners to sell wine and liquor based on their costs rather than artificially set retail prices. Malloy first introduced a similar measure in 2012. It’s consistently failed to win legislative approval due to opposition from the liquor wholesale industry.
