Most New Jersey voters oppose expanding liquor sales in movie theaters, a newly released Fairleigh Dickinson University poll found.
Fifty-five percent of the 1,211 registered voters polled support retaining existing regulations, which require movie theaters to obtain the same type of costly liquor license used by bars and restaurants, compared to 38% who said they support theaters selling booze.
“Voters just seem to be very skeptical of changes to liquor licenses, even relatively small ones like this,” said Dan Cassino, executive director of the FDU Poll. “This is a big deal for theater owners, but there isn’t any appetite in the public for having alcohol more available.”
Voter opposition to the bill cut across party lines, with a majority of Democrats (54%), unaffiliated voters (53%), and Republicans (61%) opposing it, the poll found. It enjoyed a majority among only one age group polled: 58% of voters aged 31 to 44 backed liquor sales at movie theaters.
Lawmakers in the Assembly last month approved legislation that would create a new type of liquor license specific to movie theaters priced at $210,000, or less if at least 10% of the alcohol sold at an establishment were produced by New Jersey breweries, wineries, or distilleries.
Movie theater operators in May told an Assembly panel that easier access to alcohol sales could help save an industry on the downswing following the rise of streaming services. Movie theaters can seldom afford the type of retail liquor licenses used by bars and restaurants, they said.
In New Jersey, liquor licenses face strict population-based limits and can cost hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars. Opponents of the bill have warned expanding availability would unfairly devalue existing license holders’ investments.
Similar concerns defeated former Gov. Phil Murphy’s push to eliminate the state’s limit of one retail liquor license per 3,000 residents in a municipality.
The Senate has not joined the Assembly in advancing the movie theater bill.
Nonprofit movie theaters can already sell alcohol under a special license exempt from New Jersey’s population-based limits, and the law permits for-profit movie theaters to purchase retail liquor licenses.
Wednesday’s poll also found voter support for tax credits for pet owners. Forty-five percent of New Jersey voters backed a bill to create a new state income tax credit for pet owners, compared to 41% who opposed it. Thirteen percent were unsure or declined to answer.
That proposal would allow filers who own a cat or dog to claim non-refundable tax credits for up to $300 for everyday pet expenses like food, animal toys, and crates, and $600 for veterinary costs each year.
“There are reasonable questions to be asked about how regressive such a tax break would be,” said Cassino. “But people have pets, and people like money, so theories of taxation probably aren’t coming into how they’re thinking about this.”
That bill has yet to be heard by legislative committees.
