Two days after the House approved a bill that would allow Tennesseans to buy wine in grocery stores on Sundays and most holidays, the Senate has followed suit.
On Wednesday, the chamber voted 17-11 in favor of the bill that would also allow liquor stores to be open on Sundays.
The Senate's passage of the measure sends it to Gov. Bill Haslam's desk, who has said he will sign it.
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 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 in it. One provision would immediately allow liquor stores to open 7 days a week immediately upon becoming law. The other component would delay the start of sales of wine in grocery stores on Sundays and most holidays until January 1.
Reach Joel Ebert at jebert@tennessean.com or 615-772-1681 and on Twitter @joelebert29.