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‘Massive’ liquor reform bill addresses Zion Curtain, licenses, pricing, more

Utah Channel 3

ST. GEORGE — With only nine days left in the 2017 general session of the Utah Legislature, state House Majority Leader Brad Wilson, R-Layton, released a liquor reform bill Monday that, among other overhauls, would restrict licensing, increase pricing and potentially replace the controversial “Zion Curtain” with another alternative.

Titled simply Alcohol Amendments and designated as HB 442 this session, the bill includes several new potential roadblocks for serving liquor and, in some cases, outright dead-ends service for businesses that can’t meet the new stipulations.

At its introduction to the House Monday, the Alcohol Amendments bill clocked in at 4,432 lines – approximate 144 pages.

In a text to St. George News, Rep. Jon Stanard, R-St. George, called the bill “massive.”

Read the entire bill here.

One aspect of the bill that would affect businesses – both current and potential – that want to sell alcohol would be the elimination of one of the types of liquor licenses. Wilson’s bill proposes removing the “club” license, resulting in only a general license designation for a “bar” or “restaurant” license.

According to the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, the club license Wilson’s bill seeks to eliminate may currently be issued to:

  • Equity clubs, such as country clubs.
  • Fraternal clubs that may serve mutual benefit or patriotic associations, often organized under a lodge system.
  • Dining club with dining facilities and that maintains at least 60 percent of sales from food.
  • Social club that does less than 60 percent of sales from food.

Besides the club license, there is also a restaurant license, which has designations for “beer only,” “full service” or “limited service.” All restaurant licenses specify that the establishment must have at least 70 percent of sales from food and designate more restricted hours of serving alcohol than clubs.

If the proposed law is enacted, current and future establishments would have to choose between either a bar license or one of the restaurant licenses, which would make those with food sales below the 70 percent mark adjust how they are running their business.

Another change would allow restaurants to choose between the current “Zion Curtain,” a 7-foot barrier preventing patrons from seeing the preparation or service of alcohol, and a newly proposed 10-foot perimeter around the bar area where no children may be seated.

When it was established, the Zion Curtain regulation only applied to new businesses seeking a liquor license.

However, Wilson’s bill would eliminate any “grandfathering in” of businesses; as of 2018, all businesses will be required to choose between erecting the curtain or enforcing the perimeter barrier.

When it comes to smaller restaurants working with size constraints, the changes, if enacted, would essentially mean no choice at all; a 10-foot barrier could potentially eliminate family seating in a majority of the restaurant’s space.

Another concern with the proposed reforms would be a 2 percent increase in the state markup for alcohol pricing. Currently, liquor is sold at a cost-plus-86 percent markup. The bill proposes to increase the markup to cost-plus-88 percent. For “heavy” beer sold in liquor stores, the markup would go from 64.5 to 66.5 percent.

Wilson said this additional revenue will help fund some of the programs also included in the bill that are aimed at preventing underage drinking. These programs would be geared toward students in eighth and 10 grades.

Stanard told St. George News he is “generally supportive” of the bill but that he is still looking into all of the details.

Gov. Gary Herbert also expressed general support for the legislation during his annual “State of the State” address Jan. 26, even though the bill hadn’t officially been released yet.

“I believe that government regulations are designed to level playing fields and to protect the public,” Herbert said. “The results have been strong, as attested by Utah’s low DUI fatalities, our low underage consumption, our low binge drinking rate and our enviable public safety record. But there is room for improvement.”

Read more: Governor on Zion Curtain laws, education and taxes

In addition to the licenses, barriers, pricing and prevention amendments, Wilson’s bill also proposes the following points of interest:

  • Reduction in restricted zone.

Currently a business serving alcohol is prohibited within 600 feet (measured by the shortest pedestrian path) of a school, church, park or library. The proposed amendments reduce that restricted zone to 450 feet.

  • Electronic age verification.

The amendments would require electronic age verification for anyone seated in a “dispensary area.” The proposed amendments authorize the Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission to create an e-verify program for individuals to present proof of age. Such proof would display any or all of the following: name; age; number assigned by the issuing authority; birth date; gender; and status and expiration of the proof of age.

  • Increased training, tracking of underage sale violations.

The amendments would increase training for servers, bartenders, managers and owners of bars and restaurants where alcohol is served, as well as create a program to track underage alcohol sale violations.

Monday, the bill had its first reading in the House and is currently in the House Rules Committee, of which Stanard is the vice president. It is also on the agenda for the House Business and Labor Standing Committee schedule for Wednesday.

Wilson said he is fine if the bill doesn’t pass this session, and co-sponsor Sen. Jerry Stevenson, R-Layton, said this scale of legislation may take more than one year.

“If this isn’t the right policy,” Wilson told reporters Monday, “we’ll abandon it today and move onto other issues.”

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