State House lawmakers are advancing a omnibus bill loosening alcohol laws, but sponsors say it's been scaled back to remove controversial provisions to speed its path as the session nears an apparent end.

The version of House Bill 536 unveiled in the House Finance committee on Thursday morning adds provisions from a score of other alcohol bills filed this session, said sponsor Rep. Chuck McGrady, R-Henderson, but he stressed it does not include any push toward privatization.

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Some of the controversial provisions dropped in the latest version include giving local boards the option to sell liquor on Sunday, alcohol sales on ferries and trains and out-of-state shipping by in-state distilleries.

The updated bill still includes a new type of Alcoholic Beverage Control permit for "common area entertainment," sought by food halls and outdoor venues where more than one vendor might be co-located. However, it would not be applicable to a shopping mall.

Rep. Keith Kidwell, R-Beaufort, questioned a section that would allow alcohol sales at bingo parlors, likening it to "adding gasoline to a fire."

"People who play bingo get really upset when their numbers don't call," Kidwell said. "I've seen them go to fights over it."

McGrady said he would consider amending out that provision, but he added it had not drawn any other opposition.

Another provision would create a new permit for delivery service drivers who deliver alcoholic beverages to individual customers. It would require drivers to complete a state-approved training course, similar to the training required for restaurant and bar servers.

Deliveries of alcohol to college residence halls would be forbidden.

Rep. Julie von Haefen, D-Wake, asked how the law would keep a student from having alcohol delivered off campus and then serving it to underage friends.

"Frankly, it's not any different than if someone goes and buys alcohol at the ABC or the Food Lion and then takes it home," McGrady said. "You don't monitor it then. You can't."

"We're trying to put some fencing around a practice that's already occurring," he explained.

The bill would also increase the number of drinks a customer can buy at one time from one to two, increase the value of liquor discount coupons honored at ABC stores from 25 percent to 35 percent and allow liquor tastings at ABC stores.

Rep. Mark Brody, R-Union, who voted against the bill, said he grew up in Wisconsin, where alcohol sales are near-ubiquitous thanks to the state's historic beer industry, and the state had the highest rate of alcohol consumption in the country in a recent study.

"Go to a Green Bay [Packers] game if you ever get a chance, and I don't think by halftime most of the people don't even know what the score is," Brody said.

"I'm seeing us advance toward that position," he said. "I just see this progression, and I'm trying to slow it down or stop it."

"Those of you, I imagine, have never experienced that, so you don't know where where you're going yet until you get there," he told the committee, "but maybe, when you finally get there, you'll realize maybe we should have stopped this at this point."

The bill passed House Finance 12-9. It has one more stop before getting to the House floor.