Sunday alcohol sales could be on Fayetteville ballot
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Selling alcohol on Sunday could soon be legal for all four of Northwest Arkansas' largest cities.
Why it matters: A group working to bring Sunday alcohol sales to Fayetteville says it would keep sales tax dollars in the city, instead of residents purchasing alcohol in other towns.
State of play: Keep Our Dollars in Fayetteville, which is backed by Walmart and chaired by state Rep. Denise Garner (D-Fayetteville), is collecting signatures for a petition to get the issue on the November ballot, the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported.
Flashback: Voters in 2022 approved Sunday alcohol sales in Rogers and Bentonville with more than 70% of the vote in each city.
- Springdale has allowed Sunday alcohol sales since 2012.
- Smaller cities in NWA — including Garfield, Gentry, Pea Ridge, Greenland and Tontitown — also allow Sunday sales.
How it works: Selling alcohol in stores on Sunday is prohibited, even in wet counties like Benton and Washington, unless voters approve Sunday sales.
- Anyone in the city may start a petition and must collect signatures from 15% of the number of people who voted in the governor's race in the most recent election.
- That means Keep Our Dollars in Fayetteville must collect 4,182 signatures because 27,878 Fayetteville residents voted in the 2022 gubernatorial election, the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported.
What's next: If the issue makes it to the ballot and voters approve it, alcohol sales would be allowed between 10am and midnight on Sunday.
Go deeper: Arkansas' alcohol laws explained