Alcoholic beverage control states, generally called control states, are 19 states in the United States that have state monopoly over the wholesaling and/or retailing of some or all categories of alcoholic beverages, such as beer, wine, and distilled spirits.

History[link]

At the beginning of the temperance movement in the United States, many states controlled where and when alcohol could be sold. Before this time, most alcoholic beverages for off-premises consumption were often sold just like any other item of commerce in stores or in saloons/bars. Because of heavy lobbying by temperance groups in various states, most required off-premise beverages to be sold in dedicated stores (primarily called dispensaries). To further enhance oversight of beverage sales, some states such as South Carolina operated state-run dispensaries.

Following repeal of national prohibition in the U.S. in 1933, some states initially decided to continue their own prohibition against the production, distribution, and sale of alcoholic beverages within their borders. Other states decided to leave the issue to local jurisdictions, including counties and cities, a practice called local option.

States were also able to restrict the importation of "intoxicating liquors" into their territory under the provisions of the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution which, while ending the Federal role in alcohol control, exempted liquor from the Constitutional rule reserving the regulation of interstate commerce to the Federal government. Thus states which wished to continue Prohibition could do so.

ABC Store in Durham, North Carolina.

Among those states which chose not to maintain complete prohibition over alcoholic beverages, approximately one third established government monopolies while the remaining two thirds established private license systems. In its simplest terms, the license system allows private enterprises to buy and sell alcohol at state discretion. In actual effect, the license operates as a device of restraint and not merely a grant of privilege or freedom. In a constitutional sense, the license confers no property right and the exercise of its privilege is continuously contingent upon the holder’s compliance with required conditions and the general discretion of the licensing authority. The remaining states adopted the monopoly system of regulation, the more cautious of the two regulatory frameworks. As alluded to above, under the monopoly scheme the government takes over the wholesale trade and conducts the retail sale of heavier alcoholic beverages through its own stores. That is, the state itself engages in the sale and distribution of alcoholic beverages. Most of these states have an "Alcoholic Beverage Control" (ABC) board and run package stores called ABC stores. It is also worth noting that in all monopoly states a parallel license system is used to regulate the sale and distribution of lighter alcoholic beverages such as beer and wine.

Reasons for maintaining a monopoly system vary; for example, the Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control states that:

The purpose of control is to make liquor available to those adults who choose to drink responsibly - but not to promote the sale of liquor. By keeping liquor out of the private marketplace, no economic incentives are created to maximize sales, open more liquor stores or sell to underage persons. Instead, all policy incentives to promote moderation and to enforce existing liquor laws is enhanced.^[1]

Beginning in the 1960s onward, many control states loosened their monopoly of beverage sales. States like West Virginia sold all of their state liquor stores to private owners, while others like Vermont permit private store owners to sell alcohol on behalf of the state for a commission.

Modern stores[link]

There are currently 19 monopoly states in the U.S. The term "control state" is popular but ambiguous, since all states control and regulate the sale of alcohol to some degree. Only 19 states are monopoly states, and the term "control state" frequently refers to these 19 states in particular. The extent to which this monopoly extends differs from state to state. Out of the 19 states that regulate alcohol wholesaling, only eight (Alabama, Idaho, New Hampshire, Oregon, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Utah) run liquor establishments. The others either permit ABC licensed private stores to sell liquor or contract the management and operations of the store to private firms, usually for a commission. Liquor sales and distribution became privatized in Washington state on 1 June 2012. ^[2]

In all of these control states, some form of low-alcoholic beverages are available in private retail outlets for off-premise consumption. Most of these states require private retail outlets to have a license issued by the ABC board (usually called an ABC off License). Similar licensure procedures apply for acquiring an on-premise license.

Use of the term "alcoholic beverage control" by a state does not make it a "control" (or monopoly) state. For example, Arkansas uses "Alcoholic Beverage Control" or "ABC" to refer to its state agencies that regulate alcohol sales; yet all alcohol sales (wholesale and retail) in those communities that allow it are by private firms. Though Arkansas (like most states) generally limits the number of retail outlets in an area, outlets within those limits are free to compete. Therefore, Arkansas is a local option state, but it is not a "control" (or monopoly) state.

Many "control" (or monopoly) states are members of the National Alcohol Beverage Control Association.

State listing[link]

The 19 control or monopoly jurisdictions as of 2011 are:

1. Alabama (Liquor stores are state-run or on-premise establishments with a special off-premise license.)^[3]
2. Idaho (Maintains a monopoly over sales of beverages with greater than 16% ABV.)
3. Iowa (Does not operate retail outlets. Passed a bill in March 2010, allowing high-proof beer to be privately distributed.)^[4]
4. Maine (State-contracted to private businesses for commission)
5. Maryland (Under state law the counties of Montgomery, Somerset, Wicomico and Worcester are county alcohol controlled which mandates that off-premise liquor sales are to be conducted only at county owned and operated dispensaries/stores. One exception exists in Montgomery County, four grocery stores had their licenses grandfathered prior to the change of the law.^[5] Until recently Dorchester County was an alcohol control county until the County Council voted to permanently shutter the county owned liquor dispensaries.)
6. Michigan (Does not operate retail outlets; maintains a monopoly over wholesaling of distilled spirits only.)
7. Mississippi (State-contracted liquor stores)
8. Montana (State-contracted liquor stores, modeled after the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission)^[6]
9. New Hampshire (Beer and wine can be sold at supermarkets & convenience stores; spirits and liqueurs are sold only in state-run liquor stores.)
10. North Carolina (Beer and wine can be sold in supermarkets and convenience stores; other spirits must be sold in liquor stores owned by local ABC boards. The State ABC Commission controls wholesale distribution and oversees local ABC boards.)
11. Ohio (Licenses businesses to run liquor stores for a commission; these stores have a monopoly on sales of beverages with greater than 21% ABV.)
12. Oregon (Beer and wine can be sold in supermarkets and convenience stores; other spirits must be sold in liquor stores operated and managed by state-appointed liquor agents who act as independent contractors under the supervision of the OLCC.)
13. Pennsylvania (All liquor stores [wine and spirits] are run by the state. Recently, there have been state-run retail outlets in the form of automated kiosks, opened inside some supermarkets; currently, 19 supermarkets have this.^[7] Malt beverages are sold in case lots by distributors and in smaller quantities by on-premise establishments.)
14. Utah (all beverages over 3.2% ABW [4.0% ABV] are sold in state-run stores, Utah code 5(a)(i))^[8]
15. Vermont (Liquor stores are state-contracted and licensed)
16. Virginia (Beer and wine ≤14% ABV sold at supermarkets and convenience stores; all liquor stores are run by the state)
17. West Virginia (Does not operate retail outlets; maintains a monopoly over wholesaling of distilled spirits only.)
18. Wyoming (Does not operate retail outlets)

About one-quarter of the United States population lives in control or monopoly states.

See also[link]

• Alcohol laws of the United States by state
• Alcohol monopoly
• Dry county
• California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control
• Category:State alcohol agencies of the United States

References[link]

External links[link]

• National Alcohol Beverage Control Association
• Washington and other "control states"

Alcoholic Beverage Control may refer to

• State monopoly or regulation of alcohol beverages in alcoholic beverage control states
• California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control
• North Carolina Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission
• Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.