Will Utah Ease Liquor License Restrictions?

Utah law distributed liquor licenses based on population quotas, and this causes restaurants and bar to wait months before they are able to obtain full-service licenses allowing them to serve all alcoholic beverages, from wine and beer to liquor. For national chain restaurants, this wait is a deterrent from opening a business at all in the state.

Utah has a tough regulatory system for liquor which gets them a good rating with MADD. Pamela Erickson, former Oregon Liquor Control Commission director, made a comment to Utah lawmakers, “MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) rates you number one of all the states. You have the best record, according to MADD. Your underage drinking rates are some of the lowest in the nation. My advice is don’t mess with success!”

Like Erickson, opponents of looser liquor laws say that public safety will be put at risk. Sen. John Valentine, R-Orem, said that the balance between profit from liquor sales and the cost to public safety does not pay out. He said, “If you look at what you have to pay out for the social costs versus what you receive in for the taxes, those balances don’t occur. It is costing you more to have that accessibility.”

One thought on “Will Utah Ease Liquor License Restrictions?

  1. No the law is fine as it is. In actual fact, many jrcsidiutions have a practical limit of .005 which nets a temporary suspension. This allows a person to have a drink with dinner and drive home no problem. Nobody is drunk with that. However, if you are pulled over in DC at 10 pm and asked if you have had a drink today, and you say no you had one at noon (10 hours earlier), you will be charged with DUI despite the fact there is no alcohol in your system. That is, of course, ridiculous.

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