Proposals aim to change Oregon's liquor sales scene

• From the StatesmanJournal.com

Grocery stores could start stocking their shelves with liquor next year or liquor store agents could start earning more more if a set of proposals pushed by Oregon’s Liquor Control Commission gains traction in the February legislative session.

The four-member group voted unanimously Friday in favor of asking lawmakers to either invest in or reform Oregon’s liquor system.

“We didn’t formalize yet what we are going to ask,” OLCC Chairman Rob Patridge said. “We think it’s important that the legislature makes at least one of these items a priority.”

Liquor stores in Oregon are privately owned, but the alcohol on their shelves is owned by the state with retailers getting a percentage of each sale. Most of the state's 248 OLCC stores can only sell distilled spirits, but a decision by the commission in September allowed store owners to apply for licenses to sell wine and beer.

That upset grocery and convenience store owners, and the Northwest Grocery Association floated a ballot measure for 2014 to privatize Oregon liquor sales. The group unsuccessfully pushed for similar privatization legislation during the 2013 session.

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