NC Governor Rejects Privatization of Liquor

Perdue says she doesn't want to be the governor that puts liquor in convenience stores.

January 21, 2011

DURHAM, N.C. - Gov. Beverly Perdue said yesterday that she opposes privatizing North Carolina's liquor store operations, saying the one-time increase in revenue wouldn't be worth changing a system that has worked well for 70 years, Bloomberg reports.

Perdue stated her opposition before a North Carolina Association of County Commissioners meeting in Durham.

"I simply don't want to be the governor €" I really don€™t €" who puts liquor into the big Target/Walmart stores or the local convenience stores," Perdue said. "I do not believe that the privatization of our ABC system is the right business decision for North Carolina."

Perdue said a study, conducted by a consultant hired by the ABC, found that the state would gain only about $300 million in one-time money by giving licenses to outside retailers to sell liquor.

The issue of privatizing the state€™s ABC system came up last year as a way to find new revenues revenue sources, but Perdue says it€™s essential for the state to control liquor sales.

"I actually believe that this is a core service for North Carolina," she said. "This is a product that is extremely regulated for a purpose, so I believe that the health and safety and the general welfare of the public is a part of the core."

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