The Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board will propose rule changes for entertainment districts around the state following an Oct. 4 mass shooting in downtown Montgomery.
City approved entertainment districts allow people to purchase alcoholic beverages from licensed restaurants and bars and carry them outside in designated areas.
Montgomery has several, including downtown, where two people were killed and 12 others injured when multiple people began firing in a crowd on the night of Oct. 4.
Gov. Kay Ivey asked ABC Commissioner Curtis Stewart to review alcohol laws following the shooting.
“Our most immediate task will be to propose administrative rule changes to the ABC Board,” Stewart said in a written response to Ivey on Tuesday. “These potential changes include prohibiting package stores located in an entertainment district from selling products (such as cups or ice) that facilitate off-premises alcohol consumption.
“They also include limiting the amount of alcohol that a special retail licensee may sell for off-premises consumption. In proposing such changes, our goal will be to ensure that the Board is doing all it can responsibly do within its existing regulatory authority to promote public safety.”
State law currently allows municipalities to have up to five geographically defined entertainment districts. Huntsville, Birmingham, Mobile, Tuscaloosa and several other cities have such districts.
Stewart also said that, beyond rule changes, the Legislature might consider broader actions related to the districts, including curfews for minors in entertainment districts, restricting the giveaways of alcohol in entertainment districts and terminating districts if public safety standards aren’t met.
“We are certainly open to other ideas as well, and we stand ready to work with any legislator who would like to pursue these or other reforms during the Legislature’s 2026 regular session,” Stewart said.
The city of Montgomery suspended the downtown entertainment district following the shooting. So far, four people have been arrested in connection with that event..
“Public safety is paramount, and the state will continue being proactive to ensure safe communities for our citizens,” Ivey said in a written statement. “I appreciate Administrator Stewart evaluating how we can take commonsense steps when it comes to alcohol consumption in entertainment districts across our state. I support the immediate steps he is proposing the ABC Board take, and I look forward to further exploring possible reasonable policy changes to enhance public safety.”
The late-night shooting happened during a particularly busy weekend in Montgomery, The Associated Press has reported, with Alabama State University’s homecoming football game that day at Hornet Stadium, the Alabama National Fair ongoing at Garrett Coliseum and the Tuskegee University-Morehouse College rivalry football game having just ended at nearby Cramton Bowl.