Alcohol laws of Kansas
Encyclopedia
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
are among the strictest in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, in sharp contrast to its neighboring state of Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
(see Alcohol laws of Missouri
Alcohol laws of Missouri
The alcohol laws of Missouri are among the most permissive in the United States when compared to other U.S. states, though Nevada's and Louisiana's are similar...
), and similar to (though a little less rigid than) its other neighboring state of Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
(see Alcohol laws of Oklahoma
Alcohol laws of Oklahoma
The alcohol laws of Oklahoma comprehensively limit and regulate the sale of alcohol in Oklahoma. Much like its neighboring state of Kansas , Oklahoma's approach to alcohol is quite strict....
). Legislation is enforced by the Kansas Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control
Kansas Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control
The Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control is a Kansas state government agency responsible for enforcing the alcohol laws of Kansas. It issues state licenses and permits, monitors the flow of restriceted products, inspects licensed premises and enforces restrictions on underage purchasing and...
.
Kansas had statewide prohibition
Prohibition in the United States
Prohibition in the United States was a national ban on the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol, in place from 1920 to 1933. The ban was mandated by the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution, and the Volstead Act set down the rules for enforcing the ban, as well as defining which...
from 1881 to 1948, longer than any other state, and continued to prohibit on-premises liquor sales until 1987 when{Chapter 41-104, Article 26 of Kansas Statutes Annotated}was passed. Kansas's strict and highly regulated approach to alcohol stems from lingering vestiges of its long era of prohibition.
In 2011dry counties
Dry county
A dry county is a county in the United States whose government forbids the sale of alcoholic beverages. Some prohibit off-premises sale, some prohibit on-premises sale, and some prohibit both. Hundreds of dry counties exist across the United States, almost all of them in the South...
continue to prohibit all on-premises liquor sales, but do allow the sale of 3.2% beer.
History of liquor laws in Kansas
Statewide prohibition of alcohol (1881-1948)
In 1880, Kansas voters narrowly approved an amendment to the Kansas ConstitutionWyandotte Constitution
The present Constitution of the State of Kansas was originally known as the Wyandotte Constitution to distinguish it from three proposed constitutions that preceded it...
prohibiting all manufacture and sale of "intoxicating liquors" throughout the state effective January 1, 1881, making Kansas the first state in the United States to enact a statewide Constitutional prohibition on alcohol, and heralding Kansas's long era of statewide prohibition. Kansas was a national center of activity of the temperance movement
Temperance movement
A temperance movement is a social movement urging reduced use of alcoholic beverages. Temperance movements may criticize excessive alcohol use, promote complete abstinence , or pressure the government to enact anti-alcohol legislation or complete prohibition of alcohol.-Temperance movement by...
. Carrie A. Nation came from Kansas, beginning her efforts in 1888 by advocating enforcement of Kansas's new prohibition.
Nationwide prohibition went into effect with ratification of the 18th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States in 1919, lasting until repeal by the 21st Amendment in 1933. During this period, alcohol was prohibited in Kansas by both state and federal law
Law of the United States
The law of the United States consists of many levels of codified and uncodified forms of law, of which the most important is the United States Constitution, the foundation of the federal government of the United States...
. In 1934, shortly after the end of nationwide prohibition, a proposal was put to referendum that Kansas end its statewide prohibition, and regulate and tax liquor instead. Voters rejected it by a sizeable margin.
Kansas's statewide prohibition amendment allowed the Kansas Legislature
Kansas Legislature
The Kansas Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Kansas. It is a bicameral assembly, composed of the lower Kansas House of Representatives, composed of 125 Representatives, and the upper Kansas Senate, with 40 Senators...
to define what constituted an "intoxicating liquor." So, in 1937, the legislature passed a law defining beer with an alcohol content of 3.2% or less by weight as cereal malt beverage, or "CMB," thereby excluding CMB from the definition of "intoxicating liquor." The new law also authorized sale of CMB for both on- and off-premise consumption throughout the state.
Finally, in 1948, voters narrowly approved an amendment to the Kansas Constitution authorizing the legislature to "regulate, license and tax the manufacture and sale of
intoxicating liquor ... regulate the possession and transportation of intoxicating liquor." The amendment also deemed the open saloon "forever prohibited." This meant
that package (off-premises) liquor sales could be authorized and regulated, but that the prohibition of sale by the drink in public places (on-premises) continued.
Prohibition of sale by the drink (1948-1987)
After the 1948 Amendment, the Legislature enacted the Liquor Control Act, which authorized off-premises sale in counties which had approved the 1948 Amendment, subject to a system of regulating, licensing, and taxing those sales. The Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control, or ABC, was created to enforce the Act.In 1965, the Legislature enacted laws permitting the sale of liquor in private clubs. Clubs were exempt from the constitutional prohibition because they were not open to the public. In 1970, voters rejected by a slim margin of 10,000 a proposal to repeal the constitutional prohibition on open saloons. In 1979, the Legislature permitted on-premises sales of liquor by the drink in private clubs, leading many existing CMB saloons to start selling liquor but charge the consumer a one-time "membership fee."
In the 1970s, Kansas Attorney General Vern Miller, who served from 1971 to 1975, brought a new bout of enforcement of Kansas's prohibition, even raiding Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
trains traveling through Kansas to stop illegal liquor sales. He also forced airlines to stop serving liquor while traveling through Kansas airspace.In 2011 it is likely that these restrictions would be found unconstitutional under the Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
's decision in Granholm v. Heald
Granholm v. Heald
Granholm v. Heald, 544 U.S. 460 , was a court case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in a 5-4 decision that ruled that laws in New York and Michigan that permitted in-state wineries to ship wine directly to consumers, but prohibited out-of-state wineries from doing the same, were...
, 544 U.S. 460 (2005).
Finally, in 1986, the electorate voted to repeal the prohibition on open saloons in Kansas, effective January 1, 1987. The Legislature thereafter amended the Liquor Control Act to regulate and license sales of alcohol in bars in any county which had approved the 1986 Amendment or did so subsequently and only in towns with a population of 11,000 (lowered to 5,000 in 2000). Sunday sale of liquor was prohibited, but Sunday sale of CMB was permitted in restaurants deriving more than 30% of their profits from food. All of these new establishments and allowances were subject to a 10% "drink tax." Grocery stores were prohibited from selling anything besides 3.2% beer.
Recent developments
In 2003, the District Court of Wyandotte CountyWyandotte County, Kansas
Wyandotte County is a county located in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. The county's population was 157,505 for the 2010 census. Its county seat and most populous city is Kansas City with which it shares a unified government...
ruled that the ban on Sunday liquor sales was unconstitutional because it did not apply uniformly to all communities. The Kansas Supreme Court
Kansas Supreme Court
The Kansas Supreme Court is the highest judicial authority in the state of Kansas. Composed of seven justices, led by Chief Justice Lawton Nuss, the Court supervises the legal profession, administers over the judicial branch, and serves as the state court of last resort in the appeals...
upheld the ruling." By then, two counties and 23 cities had adopted laws permitting Sunday liquor sales. Eventually, effective November 15, 2005, the Legislature amended the Liquor Control Act to permit cities and counties to allow Sunday liquor sales, except on Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
Sunday and Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
when it falls on a Sunday.
In 2011 counties, known as "dry counties
Dry county
A dry county is a county in the United States whose government forbids the sale of alcoholic beverages. Some prohibit off-premises sale, some prohibit on-premises sale, and some prohibit both. Hundreds of dry counties exist across the United States, almost all of them in the South...
," continue to prohibit all on-premises liquor sales. The majority of Kansas communities still prohibit Sunday liquor sales.
In 2011, Kansas still has not ratified the 21st Amendment
Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution repealed the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which had mandated nationwide Prohibition...
, which ended nationwide prohibition in 1933.
Liquor sales
Kansas law divides alcohol into six categories, each of which is regulated differently. "Alcoholic liquor" includes spirits, wine, and beer containing over 3.2% alcohol by weight; spirits are defined as any distilled alcoholic beverage, including brandy, rum, whiskey, and gin, among others. A "cereal malt beverage" is beer containing less than 3.2% alcohol by weight. A "nonalcoholic malt beverage" is beer containing less than 0.5% alcohol by weight. "Domestic table wine" is wine containing 14% or less alcohol by volume, manufactured by farm wineries in Kansas from products grown in Kansas. "Domestic fortified wine" is wine containing between 14% and 20% alcohol by volume, similarly made in Kansas. "Domestic beer" is beer containing 8% or less alcohol by weight and is manufactured by microbreweries from Kansas-grown agricultural products.Regulations governing liquor sale and taxation are enforced by the ABC. It has broad rule-making authority. All liquor sales are subject to a 10% "drink tax" on gross receipts of any business which sells liquor, either as a distributor, off-premises, or on-premises.
Kansas lifted the ban on the importation of alcohol from other states other than by a licensed distributor in 2009. Before this, it was illegal for private citizens to order beer, wine, or liquor from out of state breweries or wineries, including by telephone, internet, and mail order.
Distribution
Kansas has a three-tier liquor distribution systemThree-tier (alcohol distribution)
The three-tier system of alcohol distribution is the system for distributing alcoholic beverages set up in the United States after the repeal of Prohibition. The three tiers are producers, distributors, and retailers. The basic premise of the system is that producers must sell only to...
. That is, alcohol subject to control is distributed from manufacturer to distributor to retailer. The only exceptions are that farm wineries and microbreweries may sell directly to the consumer, and establishments may purchase beer and bulk wine directly from wholesalers.
Off-premises
Off-premises liquor sales are only allowed in licensed liquor stores. Grocery stores and gas stations may sell CMB. Retail liquor stores are licensed by the state, and CMB retailers are licensed by the city or county.Retail liquor stores
A retail liquor store licensee must have been a United States citizen for 10 years, a resident of Kansas for 4 years, must never have been convicted of a felony, a crime of moral turpitudeMoral turpitude
Moral turpitude is a legal concept in the United States that refers to "conduct that is considered contrary to community standards of justice, honesty or good morals." It appears in U.S. immigration law from the nineteenth century...
, a liquor law violation, must never have had a prior license revocation, must be 21 years of age, must not be in the business of law enforcement, and the licensee's spouse must meet the same qualifications. Retail liquor stores may sell beer, wine, spirits, and nonalcoholic malt beverages. They may be licensed CMB retailers as well.
Sales are prohibited on Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving Day is a holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. Thanksgiving is celebrated each year on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. In Canada, Thanksgiving falls on the same day as Columbus Day in the...
, Easter, and Christmas. Sales are prohibited between 11:00 PM and 9:00 AM. Cities and counties which allow off-premises sales are prohibited from allowing Sunday liquor sales after 8:00 PM, but may not require retail liquor stores to close before 8:00 PM on other days. No sales are allowed at less than cost. All employees must be at least 21 years of age.
A retail liquor store must be in an area zoned for commercial use, cannot be located within 200 feet (61 m) of a school, college, or church, and cannot have an indoor entrance or an opening which connects with another business. Except for Kansas Lottery
Kansas Lottery
The Kansas Lottery is run by the government of Kansas. It is a charter member of the Multi-State Lottery Association .In November 1986, voters approved a constitutional amendment authorizing the creation of a government-run lottery. The Kansas Legislature passed the "Kansas Lottery Act" in 1987,...
tickets (which incidentally can be sold to 18-year-olds), it may not sell any product besides liquor, products or materials included by the manufacturer in the package, and nonalcoholic malt beverages. It may not provide any entertainment, including pinball machines.
CMB retailers
A CMB licensee must be a United States citizen, must have been a resident of Kansas for one year, must have been a resident of the county in which the business is located for six months, must not have had a felony conviction in the preceding two years, must never have had a conviction for a crime of moral turpitude, drunkenness, DUI, or any liquor violation, must be at least 21 years of age, and the licensee's spouse must meet the same qualifications. CMB retailers may sell cereal malt beverages or nonalcoholic malt beverages.Sales are prohibited between midnight and 6:00 AM. Sales are allowed at less than cost. All employees must be at least 18 years of age. Cities and counties regulate the locations at which CMB retailers may not be located.
On-premises
As discussed above, Kansas did not allow public on-premises liquor sales from 1881 to 1987. Except in clubs, liquor by the drink in 2011 is specifically prohibited except where voters have approved its sale. The 1986 constitutional amendment which allowed liquor by the drink authorized the Legislature to provide for liquor by the drink in establishments that derive 30% or more of gross receipts from the sale of food. Permits only can be issued in those counties which have approved liquor by the drink. If a county did not approve the amendment, it can hold a subsequent county referendum in which voters may: (1) prohibit liquor by the drink in that county; (2) remove the minimum food sale requirement; or (3) permit liquor by the drink in places that meet the 30% minimum food sale requirement.In 2011 dry counties
Dry county
A dry county is a county in the United States whose government forbids the sale of alcoholic beverages. Some prohibit off-premises sale, some prohibit on-premises sale, and some prohibit both. Hundreds of dry counties exist across the United States, almost all of them in the South...
never approved the 1986 amendment and therefore continue to prohibit any and all sale of liquor by the drink. On-premises sales are illegal in these dry counties. 59 other counties (including Johnson County
Johnson County, Kansas
Johnson County is a county located in northeast Kansas, in the central United States. The county is largely suburban, being part of the Kansas City metropolitan area, and containing many of its affluent southwestern suburbs. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 544,179. Its county...
, the largest county in Kansas and the largest Kansas portion of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area
Kansas City Metropolitan Area
The Kansas City Metropolitan Area is a fifteen-county metropolitan area that is anchored by Kansas City, Missouri and is bisected by the border between the states of Missouri and Kansas. As of the 2010 Census, the metropolitan area has a population of 2,035,334. The metropolitan area is the...
) approved the 1986 amendment with the food sales requirement. Only 17 counties in Kansas approved the 1986 amendment without limitation and allow liquor to be sold by the drink on-premises without any food sales requirement. The counties which are entirely "wet" include most of those with Kansas's larger cities, such as Douglas
Douglas County, Kansas
Douglas County is a county located in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 110,826...
, where Lawrence
Lawrence, Kansas
Lawrence is the sixth largest city in the U.S. State of Kansas and the county seat of Douglas County. Located in northeastern Kansas, Lawrence is the anchor city of the Lawrence, Kansas, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Douglas County...
and the University of Kansas
University of Kansas
The University of Kansas is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Kansas. KU campuses are located in Lawrence, Wichita, Overland Park, and Kansas City, Kansas with the main campus being located in Lawrence on Mount Oread, the highest point in Lawrence. The...
are located, Sedgwick
Sedgwick County, Kansas
Sedgwick County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. The county's population was 498,365 for the 2010 census. The largest city and county seat is Wichita. The county was named after General John Sedgwick...
, where Wichita
Wichita, Kansas
Wichita is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas.As of the 2010 census, the city population was 382,368. Located in south-central Kansas on the Arkansas River, Wichita is the county seat of Sedgwick County and the principal city of the Wichita metropolitan area...
is located, Shawnee
Shawnee County, Kansas
Shawnee County is a county located in northeast Kansas, in the central United States of America. Its most populous city, Topeka, is the state capital and county seat. The county's population was 177,934 for the 2010 census...
, where Topeka
Topeka, Kansas
Topeka |Kansa]]: Tó Pee Kuh) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is situated along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, located in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was...
is located, and Wyandotte
Wyandotte County, Kansas
Wyandotte County is a county located in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. The county's population was 157,505 for the 2010 census. Its county seat and most populous city is Kansas City with which it shares a unified government...
, where Kansas City
Kansas City, Kansas
Kansas City is the third-largest city in the state of Kansas and is the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri, and is the third largest city in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. The city is part of a consolidated city-county government known as the "Unified...
is located. The counties which are home to Fort Riley
Fort Riley
Fort Riley is a United States Army installation located in Northeast Kansas, on the Kansas River, between Junction City and Manhattan. The Fort Riley Military Reservation covers 100,656 acres in Geary and Riley counties and includes two census-designated places: Fort Riley North and Fort...
, a large United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
base, Geary
Geary County, Kansas
Geary County is a county located in Northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 34,362. Its county seat and most populous city is Junction City. The county is named in honor of Governor John W. Geary...
and Riley
Riley County, Kansas
Riley County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. The county's population was 71,115 for the 2010 census. The largest city and county seat is Manhattan. The county is part of the Manhattan, Kansas, Metropolitan Statistical Area.Riley County is home to two of Kansas' largest...
, are also totally wet. Riley County's seat, Manhattan
Manhattan, Kansas
Manhattan is a city located in the northeastern part of the state of Kansas in the United States, at the junction of the Kansas River and Big Blue River. It is the county seat of Riley County and the city extends into Pottawatomie County. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 52,281...
, is home to the state's other large college campus, Kansas State University
Kansas State University
Kansas State University, commonly shortened to K-State, is an institution of higher learning located in Manhattan, Kansas, in the United States...
.
In those counties which allow liquor to be sold on-premises by the drink, clubs and drinking establishments, as well as microbreweries and farm wineries, may sell beer, wine, spirits, nonalcoholic malt beverages, and cereal malt beverages any day, but not between 2 AM and 9 AM. Drinks "on the house" are prohibited. No sales are allowed at less than cost. "All you can drink" promotions are prohibited. Drinks cannot be offered as prizes. "Happy hour" promotions are banned, instead allowing only all-day specials to avoid binge drinking during a certain timeframe. An increased alcohol content in a drink must result in proportional increase in price. Free food and entertainment are permitted. Employees must be at least 21 years of age to mix and dispense drinks, but may be at least 18 years of age to serve drinks. Samples of drinks, such as beer, cannot be given.
Open container
Open containers of alcohol are prohibited outside of private buildings and licensed on-premises alcohol sellers. An open container is prohibited inside any motor vehicle, unless it is a licensed limousine or mass-transit vehicle.Kansas's open container law meets the requirements of the federal Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century
Open container law
In the United States, open container laws prohibit the existence of open containers of alcohol in certain areas. Typically these laws concern public places, such as parks, and vehicles. Open container laws are state laws, rather than federal laws; thus they vary from state to state.-Open containers...
for prohibiting open containers in vehicles.
DUI
Like every other state in the United States, driving under the influenceDriving under the influence
Driving under the influence is the act of driving a motor vehicle with blood levels of alcohol in excess of a legal limit...
is a crime in Kansas, and is subject to a great number of regulations outside of the Liquor Control Act. Kansas's maximum blood alcohol level for driving is .08% for persons over the age of 21 and .02% for adults under the age of 21 and minors.
Ordinarily, DUI is a misdemeanor
Misdemeanor
A misdemeanor is a "lesser" criminal act in many common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished much less severely than felonies, but theoretically more so than administrative infractions and regulatory offences...
in Kansas, although the third DUI conviction becomes a felony. Refusal to take a chemical test (i.e. breathalyzer
Breathalyzer
A breathalyzer or breathalyser is a device for estimating blood alcohol content from a breath sample...
) when so requested by a law enforcement officer who has probable cause
Probable cause
In United States criminal law, probable cause is the standard by which an officer or agent of the law has the grounds to make an arrest, to conduct a personal or property search, or to obtain a warrant for arrest, etc. when criminal charges are being considered. It is also used to refer to the...
will result in a one-year suspension of the suspect's driver's license.
Underage drinking in Kansas
In response to the National Minimum Drinking Age ActNational Minimum Drinking Age Act
The National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 was passed on July 17, 1984 by the United States Congress as a mechanism whereby all states would become thereafter required to legislate the age of 21 years as a minimum age for purchasing and publicly possessing alcoholic beverages...
in 1984, which reduced by 10% the federal highway funding of any state which did not have a minimum drinking age of 21, the Kansas Legislature raised the drinking age from 18 to 21, effective January 1, 1985. Persons under 21 are prohibited from purchasing or possessing alcohol, from consuming alcohol for anything other than religious or prescribed medicinal purposes, or from having a blood alcohol level of more than .02%. There is exception for parents wishing to provide their own child alcohol under K.S.A. 21-3610(e).