Gov. Bill Haslam says he'll sign legislation allowing Sunday wine sales after Senate passage

Sunday wine sales are coming to Tennessee.

The Tennessee General Assembly this week approved legislation allowing Tennesseans to buy wine in grocery stores on Sundays and most holidays, and Gov. Bill Haslam said Wednesday he will sign it into law.

The Senate on Wednesday voted 17-11 in favor of the bill — just two days after the House approved the measure. The bill would also allow liquor stores to open on Sundays.

► What you need to know: Sunday wine sales in Tennessee

► In the House: House passes bill to allow wine sales in grocery stores on Sundays, holidays

Although the margin of the vote appears wide, the 17 votes in favor were the bare minimum needed to approve the bill. One less vote and the measure would have failed.

There was a rare audible gasp inside the chamber after the vote was tallied.

The Senate's passage of the measure sends it to Haslam's desk.

After the vote, Haslam told the USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee that he deferred to the legislature on the bill and as a result will sign the measure into law.

"I will," he said, adding he would sign the measure as soon as his office gets it.

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The legislation aligns wine sales at grocery stores with beer sales, with some exceptions. The Senate adopted the House version of the bill, which prohibits sales of wine on Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter.

Current law prohibits wine and liquor to be sold on major holidays and between 11 p.m. on Saturday and 8 a.m. on Monday.

As opposed to when the House took up the bill earlier this week, the upper chamber discussed the measure for only a brief period before voting.

The majority of discussion came from Sen. Bill Ketron, R-Murfreesboro, the sponsor of the measure. As was the case in the House, Bible verses once again played a role in the debate.

"In the scripture it talks 20 different times about the bad things of alcohol. But it also — the scriptures speak — 233 times about the good things of alcohol," Ketron said. "I Googled it."

Ketron provided examples from the books of John, Psalms, Ecclesiastes and Timothy in an effort to prove his point.

"What the scriptures say is to drink in moderation," he said. "Nowhere in the Bible describes wine as sinful."

During the discussion, which lasted less than 30 minutes, only two Senators rose to speak critically of the measure.

Expressing concern about the bill's impact on small business owners, Sen. Lee Harris, D-Memphis, said the legislation would force "mom-and-pop" shops to open seven days a week in order to remain competitive.

The legislature's passage of the bill was significantly easier than the initial 2014 legislation to allow wine sales in grocery stores.

The Sunday sales bill has two effective dates. One provision would immediately allow liquor stores to open seven days a week once the measure becomes law. The other component would delay the start of sales of wine in grocery stores on Sundays and most holidays until January 1.

Less than an hour after the bill's passage, the action was met with criticism and praise by outside groups.

Dale Walker, president of the Tennessee Pastors Network, blasted the Tennessee Republican Party, saying it had become the party of "big liquor."

“The politicians who voted against this bill will have clean hands and a clear conscience,” Walker said in a statement. “The other politicians who voted for it will have the blood of the innocent on their hands with a trail of misery that always follows alcohol and wicked liquor."

In their own statement, the Distilled Spirits Council hailed the passage of the measure, saying it will lead to millions of dollars in additional revenue for retail stores and could produce as much as $5 million in new state and local taxes.

Adam Tamburin contributed to this report.

Reach Joel Ebert at jebert@tennessean.com or 615-772-1681 and on Twitter @joelebert29.