Commentary: Turn a Short-Session Setback into a Long-Session Reform Agenda

By Joyce Kohn Sullivan, CEO, Free Our Spirits NC

North Carolina’s short session ended without any ABC legislation becoming law.

That is disappointing for consumers, hospitality businesses and communities that have waited too long for a system built in another era to catch up with the state we are today.

But reformers should not treat this outcome as a defeat. We should treat it as an opening. The long session begins in January, giving lawmakers, industry leaders, local officials and citizens time to build a serious, comprehensive agenda—not another collection of partial fixes. That agenda should rest on three pillars.

First, modernize retail sales. Adult consumers deserve greater choice, convenience and competition. Spirits should be available through a responsibly regulated retail market with strict licensing, age verification and enforcement. Modern retail reform can improve service while protecting public safety and preserving reliable revenue for state and local priorities.

Second, create a modern wholesale delivery system. Restaurants, bars, hotels and event venues cannot thrive when product selection and delivery are unpredictable. Hospitality businesses need dependable ordering, timely delivery and fair access to products their customers request. A responsive wholesale system would reduce lost sales, strengthen tourism and help local employers compete.

Third, reform ABC governance. North Carolina’s fragmented network of 171 local ABC boards creates duplication, uneven service and too many opportunities for insider dealing. The General Assembly should establish one accountable ABC board per county, with transparent appointments, professional standards, open contracting, meaningful audits and clear ethics rules. Consolidation is essential to rooting out corruption and cronyism and restoring public confidence.

These reforms belong together.

Retail competition without dependable distribution will leave businesses behind. Distribution reform without accountable governance will preserve inefficiency. Governance reform without consumer choice will merely reorganize an outdated monopoly.

North Carolina needs a system that works from the warehouse to the storefront—and for the public at every step.

The months before January should be used to draft legislation, hold public forums, document service failures and build a bipartisan coalition around measurable goals.

Reformers should invite voices from rural and urban counties, public health, law enforcement, consumers and small businesses. Accountability and responsible regulation must be built into the proposal from day one.

Lawmakers should return in January ready to act.

Free Our Spirits NC will use this time to organize, educate and advocate for one coherent reform package. The short session showed that piecemeal legislation can stall. The long session must produce a modern ABC system worthy of a growing North Carolina.