We are staring down the barrel of January 1.Shannon Stiglitz, Kentucky Retail Federation
The new requirement comes as part of Senate Bill 100, which was signed into law in March. But the state agencies tasked with the licensing and enforcement, including the Kentucky Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, commonly called ABC, say creating the entirely new framework took months.
Now that the licensing portal is open, businesses say the window to meet the requirements is too short. While more than 700 businesses have been granted licenses, just over two weeks remain to get through a much longer list of applicants.
"What is concerning primarily at this moment is we are staring down the barrel of January 1 and there are 7,000 businesses that have to be licensed," Shannon Stiglitz with the Kentucky Retail Federation told lawmakers Monday. "What we don't know, or clearly understand is... what do we do if retail businesses applied for a license prior to the January 1 deadline but it is not issued?"
Stiglitz said the vast majority of businesses in that situation would simply stop selling rather than risk a violation. She also says the steps to obtain a license have been confusing and cumbersome, adding to worries that the process won't be completed in time.
State agencies say they are working as quickly as possible, but it's outside of their authority to extend the deadline or grandfather in existing businesses. They do say, however, that sellers who get the proper information to them can see their licenses granted within as little as a day.