A bill that would allow wine and beer sales at grocery stores, pharmacies and gas stations is making its way in the Maryland House of Delegates.

House Bill 1379, introduced by Delegate Marlon Amprey, does not include hard liquor but would require beer and wine sellers to obtain liquor licenses.

Mr. Amprey offered an amendment Monday to the legislation that would levy a 5% sales tax on beer and wine sold outside traditional liquor stores to help subsidize the expansion of grocery stores in underserved areas known as food deserts.

“That tax will then go into the Department of Housing into special funds that will go to support gap funding for communities that are seeking out grocery stores to come to their community,” Mr. Amprey, Baltimore Democrat, said Monday during a House Economic Matters Committee hearing.

Other amendments proposed by Mr. Amprey would require local liquor boards to limit the number of licenses within a specific area to prevent oversaturation and for nontraditional sellers to have a security guard on-site.

He also said beer and wine sales should be expanded because the current system in some communities is undignified.

“There’s a component of dignity that’s also included in being able to purchase beer and wine after a long day, and some of these stores unfortunately in predominantly Black communities … literally you got to buzz in to get into the space, then I got to talk to someone through thick bulletproof glass. I mean, the last time I’ve had to deal with that is when I’ve had to visit family members who are incarcerated,” Mr. Amprey said during the committee hearing.

His proposal was first introduced last year as House Bill 0847.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, has expressed support for expanding sales, but business owners who currently sell beer and wine have opposed the proposal.

“Look, this isn’t rocket science. If you have a pie and I cut it eight ways, then we all get an eighth. If I cut it 16 ways, we get a 16th. So unless you know you can grow this pie in a great way, we’re going to get hurt,” Jack Milani, owner of a pub in western Baltimore County, told Maryland Matters.

Mr. Milani is also the legislative co-chair of the Maryland Licensed Beverage Association.

David Brauning, the Republican chairman of the Carroll County Board of License Commissioners, said in December that “the proposed sale of beer and wine in grocery stores would create a hardship on these businesses due to lack of buying power and cause many of them to close,” according to The Baltimore Sun.

Mr. Brauning also said that Carroll County’s licensing board had concerns that having beer and wine in larger open areas would make it harder to prevent sales to minors.

Maryland is one of a handful of states — including Alaska, Delaware, Minnesota and Rhode Island — that do not allow beer or wine sales at all grocery stores.

• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.