Senate Bill 290, ABC Regulatory Reform Bill, was sent to Gov. Roy Cooper’s desk July 19 after bipartisan support in the General Assembly. With a vote of 86-28 in the House and 31-10 in the Senate, supporters easily ushered the bill through.
The bill’s most notable change to existing law allows distilleries in the state to sell beer, wine and liquor for consumption on-site. Distilleries were tightly regulated before in a way that breweries and wineries, who often have bars attached, were not.