An effort to provide relief to ABC customers suffering from the warehouse meltdown died yesterday in the legislature.
ABC warehouse manager Ruan Transport shut down for a week in early January to take inventory. While the warehouse was closed, Ruan replaced the software system and conveyor belt systems. The software was not tested and did not communicate with ABC's MARS software. Ruan replaced the conveyor system with a pick a pallet system. The result was a total meltdown as shipping times skyrocketed from 48 hours to nearly a month as Ruan shipped less than 50% of cases ordered for a month, crippling casinos, restaurants, and package store owners alike. *
The Senate passed SB# 2838 in February and transmitted it to the House of Representatives which in turn dutifully referred the bill to the State Affairs Committee. Committee Chairman Hank Zuber amended the bill to include relief for restaurant owners, casinos, and package stores across Mississippi. History and text of bill.a) A legally authorized purchaser may purchase alcoholic beverages from a legally authorized seller, and the legally authorized seller may sell and ship alcoholic beverages directly to a legally authorized purchaser. A legally authorized seller may use any method to ship, transport and deliver the alcoholic beverages to the legally authorized purchaser.
ABC customers would be allowed to use direct shipping for up to two years.
The amended bill passed the House on a vote of 112-2. However, the Senate did not concur with the bill so it went to the conference committee.
The House and Senate were not able to reach an agreement in conference so the bill died. The House conferees were Shanda Yates, Hank Zuber, and Brent Powell while the Senate team was Josh Harkins, Walter Michel, and Jason Barrett.
Kingfish note: This would have been an interesting experiment. Several package store owners said the bill would not work as the shipping costs would be "exorbitant" and distributors had no infrastructure in place in Mississippi. Such may be true but the bill would have given ABC customers something they do not have now: a choice. The choice might not have worked out for them but hey, that's part of the free market. The sentiment from the Senate was ABC and Ruan will get everything caught up while the problems will disappear when the new warehouse opens nearly a year from nwo.
18 comments:
I'll continue to buy my hard alcohol across state lines. Screw our state and legislators and their control over our alcohol. It's the most backwards ass way of doing things I've ever seen.
I don't suppose anyone has been fired yet
You are right 2:48. No jobs lost but you can bet employees have been told to keep their mouths shut!
Why does Mississippi use a socialist system to distribute alcoholic beverages?
Again.. can the leaders in The Great State of Mississippi just fix, something?
Oh well I guess we will just never have Pappy Van Winkle in Mississippi
a bandaid for a severe wound.
I don't drink, but why do we have this archaic system of alcohol distribution? Instead of building a new warehouse, just change this to a normal distribution state like most others. Good grief.
@3:29pm as of today our MS Nat’l Guard will receive free healthcare!
So all the right people can get paid?
Paid to write the bill.
Paid to lobby to pass the bi9ll.
Paid to lobby to keep things going.
Fat Cats with friends get a cushy job at ABC, get paid.
Peoplem paid to monitir the privatized work.
People get paid to design and build a new warehouse.
Ruan get paid more.
Errrybody getting paid but the customers and low paid employees that actually do the work!
This is why things work like they do in the 'SIP.
@3:39 - there has been some Pappy in the state; a case or two a year has always made it into Madison County. Appears that those few bottles all seemed to get delivered to certain addresses - at least in past years - that might just happen to have influence over the system. Maybe look at the travel vouchers of folks who, due to their positions, "HAD" to attend those meetings of alcohol agency controllers - might give you an idea of where you might could snatch a swallow at least.
Does anyone know why the Senate conference committee members voted it down ? The initial bill, which I understand may have applied only to package stores, was written and overwhelmingly approved by the Senate. As I understand it, all the House did was amend it to include and allow restaurants and casinos to do the same, which seems fair.
The only potential problem I see is , as stated above, the new statute would have allowed any "legally authorized purchaser" to buy direct too. I don't know whether the bill defined who constitutes a "legally authorized purchaser", but if it didn't, then arguably any person in the state over the age of 21 could be considered a "legally authorized purchaser". And once you give the people the right to do something, it's extremely hard to take it away later, which means the ABC would never be needed or used again in the future. I'm not sure that's what the Senate initially meant to do.
Because Hosemann is a status quo big government Democrat. Sending conferees was a ruse from the outset. Good ol' Delbert.
Screw 'em. I'll continue buying out of state. Backward Republicans are hurting our state.
Of course it died. And they reversed all the 2025 PERS reforms. Lobbyists rule this state.
Any Walmart in Louisiana has cheaper wine and liquor prices than any package store in Mississippi. And they have no shortage of product on the shelves. So, what does that say about our legislature?
So, we managed to screw liquor store owners, drinkers and retirees all in one session? Cheers to the 2026 session!
That's pretty much what has happened. Like the Jackson city management the legislature is one big incestuous circle jerk.
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