RALEIGH, N.C. — The North Carolina legislature is weighing anew whether changing how liquor sales have been regulated for decades is worth boosting the number of retail outlets selling spirits with what critics call the risks of increased alcohol consumption.
The General Assembly's government watchdog agency released a stud y Monday advising lawmakers on the implications of ending or shifting the state's current liquor operations away from government-run stores and wholesale operations. A renewed interest in privatization also comes amid a recent separate state audit scrutinizing costs in a key state Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission contract.