Gov. Abbott Still Pushing For Permanent To-Go Alcohol Sales In Texas

TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Governor Greg Abbott is pushing for permanently allowing to-go alcohol in Texas, something initially brought about by shutdowns due to the coronavirus.

Now, the state legislature has signed on to file a bill to make that happen.

On Saturday, Abbott wrote, "This has my support," on Twitter in reference to an article about a campaign by Texas restaurant leaders to make alcohol to-go sales permanent.

State Rep. Tan Parker, whose district includes a portion of Denton County joined in saying he too would file a bill in support of the issue for the next legislative session.

In March, the governor issued an order that allowed restaurants to deliver alcoholic beverages with food purchases. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, all restaurants were limited to delivery or to-go services only.

"From what I hear from Texans, we may just let this keep on going forever," said Abbott in a tweet posted at the time.

In April, Abbott said alcohol to-go sales in Texas are allowed to continue past May 1 as his plans to slowly reopen Texas were set to begin.

His most recent tweet, and push of the issue comes as several bars across Texas have had their alcohol permits suspended for 30 days for violating social distancing guidelines, according to the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC).

Abbott also told the TABC months ago, to waive certain provisions to allow manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers of alcoholic beverages to repurchase or sell back unopened products.

Texas again reported a record number of new coronavirus cases Saturday.

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