The North Carolina General Assembly is considering various alcohol bills during the long 2025 session. Proposed changes include legalizing happy hour, authorizing Sunday sales by ABC stores, clarifying special one-time permits for nonprofits, easing the process to obtain temporary ABC permits, and regulating hemp-based non-alcoholic beverages by the North Carolina ABC Commission. A full summary of each of the pending alcohol bills is below. If passed by the General Assembly, the legislation would become law immediately when signed by the governor, with the exception of some provisions that would become effective in July or October 2025 (e.g., happy hour), as noted below.
House Bill 921- ABC and Gaming Omnibus Bill
- Authorizes ABC stores to identify North Carolina-based products by price tag or shelf tag, as an alternative to displaying these in a dedicated area of the store.
- Repeals prohibition on manufacturers and wholesalers providing draft line cleaning services to retailers.
- Allows mixed beverage permittees to purchase liquor from any designated ABC store in North Carolina.
- Allows ABC stores to open on Sundays at 10 a.m. or noon, with local government approval.
- Creates a permit and franchise distribution system for wholesalers to distribute premixed cocktails to mixed beverage permittees, effective October 1, 2025.
- Includes whipped cream in the definition of alcohol consumable regulated by the North Carolina ABC Commission.
- Requires local ABC boards to provide mixed beverage permittees with at least 30 days’ notice of an apportioned product lottery.
- Authorizes happy hour for on-premises retail permittees. The bill refers to happy hour specials as “temporary and variable pricing.” If passed, on-premises retailers could offer temporary price adjustments during a limited duration within a single business day. Current ABC regulations prohibit happy hour, as well as other specials with variable pricing such as “buy 1 get 1 free,” or “buy 1 get one for a nickel.” These specials appear to be allowed under the proposed legislation if they take place for a specified and limited duration within a single business day. On-premises retailers would be required to publicly post the pricing on the premises and make the pricing available to the North Carolina ABC Commission upon request. On-premises retailers would be permitted to advertise the specials. If passed, the happy hour provision would take effect October 1, 2025.
- Clarifies that customers in a social district may possess and consume mixed beverages purchased within the social district inside other businesses that do not hold mixed beverage permits, with the permission of that business.
- Provides that nonprofits are not required to obtain a special one-time permit for a ticketed, fundraising event held on a retailer’s premises, when the alcohol is sold by the retail permittee.
- Allows businesses to obtain a temporary ABC permit without having to wait for inspections and local government approvals by submitting an affidavit to the North Carolina ABC Commission. This would help eliminate delays that retailers face when trying to obtain signatures to get the temporary ABC permit. This provision would be effective October 1, 2025.
- Revises law on the sale and delivery of more than one drink at a time to a customer to provide that on-premises permittees may sell two drinks at one time to a single patron regardless of whether the drink contains beer, wine, or liquor. This would be effective October 1, 2025.
- Revises law to clarify possession of fortified wine and spirituous liquor on commercial properties, effective October 1, 2025.
- Revises law on game nights effective October 1, 2025, to allow qualified facilities to hold game nights up to 24 times in a calendar year. The current limit is four.
- Revises law on raffles to authorize and clarify restrictions on 50/50 raffles held by nonprofits and government entities.
