During the pandemic, restaurants were selling alcohol drinks to-go - but that was only temporary.Â
A bipartisan bill is currently in the Assembly Commerce and Labor, trying to make it a mainstay.
It was proposed by the Nevada Restaurant Association and is being sponsored by Assembly Democratic Speaker Steve Yeager and Republican Assemblymember Bert Gurr.
Currently, restaurants can only sell alcohol drinks that are finished at the business.
The bill was heard at the committee meeting on Monday.
During the presentation, Speaker Yeager gave three goals with the bill.
The first is to help out smaller businesses and restaurants.
The next is to provide convenience and to disincentivize people from drinking and driving, and the last is to gain more revenue for DUI enforcement.
"I think that this bill can get everyone to stay off the roads," Assemblymember Gerr said. "They can order dinner and a drink and not drive downtown and drink two or three and then have an issue getting a DUI going home. So I think that's an important issue."
The Nevada Restaurant Association says this helps to put the smaller businesses on an equal playing field.
"Grocery stores and retail stores are big corporations that are allowed to get this perk and get this business - and not the small businesses in Nevada; the pillars of the community," said Peter Saba, Senior Government Affairs Manager for the Nevada Restaurant Association.
According to the proposed bill, the to-go drinks would have to be sealed and clearly be identifiable if the seal were broken.
The drinks could be delivered through a ride-share delivery service or through the restaurant themselves.
The person delivering them would have to complete a certified program and get an alcohol education card.
The passing of the legislation would require age verification through what the bill states as a, "scanning technology or automated software-based system."
If the bill is passed a city council, county commission or another form of local government could opt out of participating in it.
An additional fee would be charged to have the alcohol delivered, but the plan is to put that money back into making sure people who drink stay off the roads.
"If you want to participate in the program, there's going to be a fee to have it delivered to your house," Assemblymember Gurr said. "Which will go back into DUI Prevention. There's already funds set up so it will go into that. The proposed fee right now is 50 cents."
"That 50 cent surcharge on each alcohol to-go will go into the ignition interlock device program," Saba said. "Which funds DUI enforcement, DUI prevention, rehabilitation and education. And that is projected to bring in 11 million dollars into the state for those DUI programs."
However, if folks were trying to order drinks to-go, the Reno Police Department reminds residents that drinking in public is not allowed and you can receive a citation.
The only times it isn't if an event gets proper permitting to allow it.
This applies to Reno, as Las Vegas has its own set of ordinances and rules.
The bill will go through more drafting and amendments before it's heard again by the committee in the next few weeks.
If it passes out of the committee, then it will get heard on the assembly floor.
The bill is also wanting to make the Picon Punch Nevada's official state drink.
It's a brandy spirited cocktail that is super prominent in Basque culture, which has lots of roots here in the Silver State.
