The bill would also allow alcohol to be sold starting at 5 a.m. instead of 6 a.m. other days of the week.

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) _ A legislative committee is taking up a bill to allow sales of liquor on Sunday mornings, lifting a longstanding blue law that barred sales between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m.

The bill, co-sponsored by Democratic Rep. Paul Gilbert of Jay and Sen. John Patrick of Rumford, would also allow alcohol to be sold starting at 5 a.m. instead of 6 a.m. other days of the week. The Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee holds a hearing on it Wednesday afternoon.

Supporters tell the Kennebec Journal that shift workers, including many paper workers, complain about not being able to buy a drink after working their Saturday night shift. They say that for shift workers, 6 a.m. is like the afternoon.

The Christian Civic League of Maine has concerns about the bill.