Sen. Alonzo Washington proposes equity retail alcohol licenses for Prince George's County

Sen. Alonzo Washington presented Senate Bill 1,002 to the Senate Finance Committee on April 10, proposing a new Class AER "equity" retail beer, wine and liquor license for Prince George's County that would add 10 licenses and be restricted to locations outside the Capital Beltway.

Washington said the measure is modeled on cannabis equity licensing and is intended to increase ownership opportunities for residents from historically underrepresented communities. "Out of a 142 licenses, that are class a beer, wine, and liquor, in Prince George's County, not 1 of them are owned by an African American or Latino, at all," he said, citing the current ownership makeup as the bill's primary rationale.

Under the proposal the County Board of License Commissioners would be authorized to issue the new equity retail licenses to applicants certified as equity retail licensees. Washington described a phased rollout of the 10 licenses rather than issuing them all at once: "It'll be 10 — it'll be 2 [the] first year, 2 the next year, 2 next year," and the bill would require annual reporting back to the General Assembly on issuance status and the demographic breakdown of licensees.

Marcus Jackson of the Office of the County Executive told the committee the Board of License Commissioners keeps demographic information on Class A license owners. "Our board of license commissioners do keep data information on the types of individuals that own [Class A liquor] stores in particular," he said, when a committee member asked whether ownership demographics are tracked.

Committee members pressed for clarity on scope and mechanics. Members clarified that Class A refers to off‑site beer, wine and liquor retail (off‑premise sales) and that the county had not opened new Class A licenses for roughly 40 years, meaning new entrants generally must acquire existing licenses on the secondary market. Washington said the new AER class would create licenses above the existing cap rather than requiring prospective owners to purchase transfers of current licenses.

Washington also noted the bill avoids explicitly race‑based criteria after consultation with the attorney general's office, explaining he modeled eligibility on cannabis equity licenses and adjusted the language to conform with the AG's guidance.

Washington asked the committee for a favorable report on Senate Bill 1,002. The committee did not take a formal vote during the hearing; the sponsor's request was entered into the record and the hearing moved on to the next bill.