Watch CBS News

Bill Would Allow Earlier Liquor Sales On Sundays In Mass.

BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts liquor stores would be able to open their doors two hours earlier on Sundays under a bill approved by state lawmakers.

The Senate on Tuesday passed on a voice vote a bill to allow the retail sale of alcoholic beverages at 10 a.m. on Sundays.

Currently retail liquor sales are banned until noon.

The House has already approved the bill, which needs final approval in both chambers before heading to Gov. Deval Patrick's desk for his signature.

The bill is the latest effort by lawmakers to chip away at Massachusetts so-called "blue laws" some of which dated back to the Puritan leaders of the original Massachusetts Bay Colony.

A total ban on Sunday sales of alcohol at liquor stores had remained in place for two centuries in Massachusetts until it was lifted in 2003.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

MORE LOCAL NEWS FROM CBS BOSTON

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.