‘Modernize’ NC’s liquor laws? A group is pushing for change after others failed
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Free Our Spirits NC aims to modernize North Carolina's liquor laws.
- North Carolina’s ABC system generated $697 million in revenue in fiscal year 2025.
- Opponents warn privatization could reduce product availability and local revenues.
After others have tried several times to privatize North Carolina’s liquor sales over the past decade, a group hopes to start the conversation again.
The nonprofit group behind an advocacy campaign called Free Our Spirits NC says it aims to “modernize” the state’s Prohibition-era laws, which it says will improve customer and vendor experience with more choices and less regulatory burden.
Supporters of the state system argue that the Alcoholic Beverage Control setup contributes a steady stream of revenue to the state and local governments each year. In state fiscal year 2025, the ABC system generated $697 million in revenue.
Joyce Sullivan is the CEO of Carolina Champions for Growth, the group behind the Free Our Spirits NC campaign. It’s organized as a social-welfare group, which doesn’t have to disclose its donors. The group, which describes itself as unaffiliated, has hired a lobbyist on alcohol-related issues, state lobbying disclosures show.
Sullivan told The News & Observer that the group doesn’t “have all the answers, but there are lots of potential opportunities that will better serve the customer, better serve the hospitality industry and have a more free market.”
“This is not something that’s going to happen overnight. This is a fairly complex issue,” she said. “There are revenues that go to local nonprofits that are tackling alcohol addiction in their communities, and much of that comes out of the taxes for spirits.”
Sullivan said there is an opportunity for a hybrid system, since some counties might be better maintained under state control.
Jeff Strickland, the director of public affairs for the North Carolina ABC Commission, said in a statement to The N&O that if the system were completely eliminated, “so would the hundreds of millions of dollars it generates each year.”
“Eliminating the ABC system would also negatively affect product availability and product selection, particularly in smaller and rural communities.” he said.
Millions of dollars from the state’s revenue every year go toward local law enforcement, alcohol education and rehabilitation.
ABC specifics
North Carolina has 171 local ABC boards. Some counties, like Brunswick, have multiple boards. The members are appointed by local authorities.
Strickland emphasized that it is the local boards that operate the ABC stores, and that the state does not own the stores.
He said the hypothetical hybrid situation is “difficult to know or quantify how it would affect North Carolina citizens and the revenue distributed to state and local communities.”
Sullivan said the system’s operations should be streamlined, pointing to the fact that Brunswick County has nine independent ABC boards.
“We view these counties with multiple boards like that as just wasteful government spending, and that’s something that could go back to the counties in the municipalities that have already benefited from the revenue or the tax revenue on spirits,” she said.
Sullivan said some brands are not readily available for purchase for customers, who sometimes have to compete in a lottery to buy specific brands.
“This campaign is really about the consumer,” she said. “It’s about implementing a free-market approach.”
Sullivan added that people in the restaurant and hospitality industries who the campaign has heard from directly are burdened with driving to distribution facilities to pick up their stock.
Strickland said the commission is confident that “the current ABC system works great for North Carolina and its citizens.” He said the system operates without state funding since “it pays for itself and gives back.”
Sullivan said the state’s Alcohol Law Enforcement agency is “a critical partner, in our view, in the success of this modernization effort.”
“We need to make sure that that is maintained, and that the right guardrails are in place to prevent minors from getting access,” she said.
Legislation attempts
State lawmakers in the past have tried to pass legislation with similar sentiments, but have failed.
State representatives, such as Republican then-Rep. Chuck McGrady, filed a bill in 2019 that attempted to modernize the ABC system by privatizing retail liquor sales and wholesale distributions. The bill died in the House Rules Committee.
A different campaign called #FreeTheSpirits organized by the North Carolina Restaurant & Lodging Association and the North Carolina Retail Merchants Association also pushed for legislative changes to the ABC system.
State Sen. Jim Burgin, an Angier Republican, filed a bill last month that would end state and local operation of liquor sales and privatize the system. It has been referred to the Senate Rules Committee.
Sullivan said Free Our Spirits NC would “welcome the opportunity to collaborate” with Burgin.
Strickland said the commission works to help lawmakers on pending legislation by “answering questions, sharing facts, and correcting inaccuracies or misconceptions.”
Burgin has also filed legislation to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana.
