BISMARCK — North Dakotans who want a beer with their turkey on Thanksgiving will either have to buy it ahead of time or find an open drinking establishment.
The state Senate voted 14-31 to reject House Bill 1335, which would have legalized off-sale of alcohol after 2 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day. The legislation sponsored by Rep. Alisa Mitskog, D-Wahpeton, previously passed the House by a narrow margin.
North Dakota and Minnesota are two of more than a dozen states that restrict booze sales during the November holiday. South Dakota allows liquor stores to open on Thanksgiving.
The ban on Thanksgiving sales is among the few remaining pillars of North Dakota’s once-strict blue laws. Off-premises alcohol sales also are prohibited between 2-8 a.m. on Sundays, after 6 p.m. on Christmas Eve and between 2-8 a.m. on Christmas Day.
Over the last four years, legislators have passed laws allowing retail and liquor stores to open earlier on Sundays.
ADVERTISEMENT
Sen. Jonathan Sickler, R-Grand Forks, said a majority of the Senate Judiciary Committee wanted to keep off-sale illegal on Thanksgiving to give liquor store employees the holiday off from work.
On-site liquor sales on Thanksgiving are legal to accommodate restaurant patrons, but people who want to drink alcohol at home can buy booze ahead of the holiday, Sickler said.
Sen. Scott Meyer, R-Grand Forks, tried to convince his colleagues that allowing liquor stores to open on Thanksgiving was a business-friendly approach. He said it doesn’t make much sense to mandate that liquor store employees take the day off when bartenders and servers may still be working on Thanksgiving.
“I, for one, won’t probably be out there buying anything because I’ve got to get up early the next morning to pheasant hunt, but what I would say is let this be a business decision,” Meyer said.
The Trust Project
