BOSTON (WWLP) – House lawmakers have extended cocktails to go for another year.
During the pandemic Massachusetts lawmakers made it a priority to give back to small businesses in need. And they found that the best way to do that for restaurants was to allow residents to take their cocktails to-go.
Back in 2020, the state legislature approved a bill allowing bars and restaurants to temporarily sell their cocktails to go.
The measure was extened in 2021 to help the hospitality industry rebound from the pandemic.
That same bill popped up again this session and House lawmakers extended the option to take your cocktails to go through April 1st of 2023.
It’s now up to the Senate to decide the bill’s fate.
Since Massachusetts passed a cocktails to go bill, 35 states followed our lead. There are now 18 states in the U.S. that have made their cocktails legislation permanent and there’s a lot of support here at the statehouse for Massachusetts to do the same.
