The issue of whether Minnesota should allow liquor stores to be open Sundays got a hearing Wednesday in a House committee, with store owners on both sides of the question weighing in.

“You’ve got to ask yourself: Are people going to consume more alcohol?” said Mike Hansen, owner of Ham Lake Liquors. He said if they don’t, as he suspects would be the case, he’d be paying more to staff his store on Sundays and not getting more revenue.

State Rep. Jenifer Loon, R-Eden Prairie, said sales have gone up in other states that have changed their laws to allow Sunday sales and added that Minnesota would be in a position to capture Sunday purchases that now are occurring in border states.

She also said liquor stores shouldn’t have to live with a Sunday sales ban forever simply because it was the law when they opened.

“Conditions on businesses change all the time,” Loon said.

Overturning Minnesota’s ban on Sunday liquor-store sales has been a perennial losing issue at the Capitol, but it got fresh momentum this year from interest groups and support from the governor and speaker of the House.

Wednesday’s hearing was informational only; no action was taken.

Still, Loon said, it’ll be good for lawmakers to have heard some of the arguments in case the repeal bill is offered this session as an amendment on the floor, which some have said is likely.

Advocates for repealing the ban and having Minnesota join the 38 states that allow Sunday sales say it would produce more revenue and expand consumer choice.

Those who want to keep the ban argue that they don’t think sales would go up appreciably if they opened on Sundays but that they’d feel compelled to be open for competitive reasons and thus would have to give up what now is valuable family time.

Doug Belden can be reached at 651-228-5136.

Follow him at twitter.com/dbeldenpipress.