Topeka ? Cities and counties could permit Sunday liquor and beer sales under a proposal endorsed Monday by a legislative study committee, and members think the measure could break lawmakers’ previous stalemate on the issue.

The proposal would apply to liquor stores and beer sold in grocery and convenience stores. Sunday sales could be legalized in all cities and in any township with a population of 5,000 or more.

The measure is designed to reassert state control over liquor sales. Last year, a Wyandotte County district judge ruled the state’s Liquor Control Act is not uniform, and therefore cities and counties can exempt themselves from some of its provisions, including the long-standing ban on Sunday sales.

Some communities, including Lawrence, have permitted Sunday sales, taking action after legislators failed to pass a bill this year to rewrite the Liquor Control Act. The latest proposal, endorsed by the Special Committee on Judiciary, will be forwarded to the 2004 Legislature, which convenes Jan. 12.

This year, the House approved a bill making the Liquor Control Act uniform and permitting Sunday liquor sales, but that measure stalled in the Senate.

But now, said Sen. John Vratil, R-Leawood, chairman of the study committee, “I think there is majority support in both houses of the Legislature for local-option Sunday sales.”

Last year, Wyandotte County voters approved Sunday sales, and the attorney general’s office sued to prevent them. The judge ruled in the county’s favor, and Atty. Gen. Phill Kline appealed.

The Kansas Supreme Court plans to hear arguments Dec. 10.

Some legislators fear that if the Supreme Court rules in the county’s favor, other parts of the Liquor Control Act could be attacked, such as provisions dealing with taxes and the legal drinking age of 21.

“We’re not certain how the Supreme Court will rule,” said Rep. Rick Rehorn, D-Kansas City, a supporter of Sunday sales.

To make the Liquor Control Act uniform, the measure would declare that liquor stores are permitted in any city or any township with 5,000 or more residents, unless the local governing body takes action to ban the stores within 90 days of the measure taking effect.

Currently, liquor stores are permitted in all but four of the state’s 105 counties — Haskell, Kiowa, Linn and Stanton.

If a city or county permitted liquor stores, its governing board also could approve Sunday sales. Opponents of Sunday sales still could force an election.

Communities that approved Sunday sales this year would have to do so again after the measure took effect. Committee members said such a requirement would keep the revised Liquor Control Act uniform, avoiding another legal challenge.