If you're feeling lazy and you're looking for booze this holiday season, you're in luck. The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission announced Thursday it's going to allow third-party delivery of alcohol from restaurants, liquor stores and grocery stores.
TABC says it is taking applications for its new consumer delivery permit, and that it expects to clear apps like Favor and Instacart for deliveries by the third week of December.
The new permit also allows restaurants with proper permitting to include alcohol in deliveries. Containers must be sealed and delivered to places where consumption of alcohol is allowed. Drivers must confirm the recipient of a delivery is over 21 years old and cannot deliver to someone who is intoxicated.
Drivers are required to undergo a TABC training course before they can deliver alcohol, and TABC can suspend permits for violations.
The permit was created by a bill that received bipartisan support in both the Texas House and Senate this past legislative session. The bill, written by North Texas Republican state Sen. Kelly Hancock, passed in May (with only 15 "no" votes between the two houses). It was signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott on June 4.
H-E-B, Amazon, the Texas Restaurant Association and other retail groups and alcohol distribution companies backed the effort. Nobody testified against the bill as it wound through Senate and House committees.
