A new bill that would revise Wisconsin’s long-standing policies on alcohol will get a hearing before the Senate Committee on Universities and Revenue at 9:30 on Thursday morning. The bill, introduced in part by Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu (R) of Oostburg, is being touted as a bipartisan, comprehensive three-tier reform that updates alcohol regulations and encourages free-market competition. Senate Bill 332 / Assembly Bill 304 has the support of “respected associations, companies, and membership – including this broad coalition of 20 spanning Wisconsin’s alcohol beverage industry – and is needed to streamline, clarify, and transition Wisconsin’s alcohol laws to the 21st century” according to a release issued on Tuesday. But not all see it as a welcome change.
The bill would, according to the release, provide less bureaucratic barriers that would “increase free market competition, and expand choices for consumers; add consistency across regulations for brewers, brewpubs, wineries and distillers/rectifiers, and clarity to the existing three-tier system; fairness for consumers; and ensure certainty for the state’s alcohol industry.”
One sector that doesn’t see everything on the up-and-up is the National Taxpayers Union, which opined on Monday that the bill is coming after wedding barns, venues that offer a shabby-chic alternative to the standard wedding reception hall, and which have threatened to break the monopoly those halls have on the reception business. The wedding barn option currently allows a party to buy their own liquor in advance wherever they like and serve it at the barn, which doesn’t need a license to do so. That hasn’t gone over well with organizations like the Wisconsin Tavern League, or with Drink Local Wisconsin, a political action committee that donated $1,000 to Senate Majority Leader LeMahieu’s 2023-24 election campaign according to transparencyusa.org. Drink Local’s website indicates that it was formed in order represent small and independent craft breweries, wineries and distilleries in pursuit of the reforms contained in SB332/AB304. And while the legislation would open some opportunities currently prohibited, such as allowing the sale of the popular “Spotted Cow” beer beyond state lines, it would also protect venues that must obtain licenses in order to sell alcoholic beverages…something wedding barns don’t have to do since the customer – not the venue – does the purchase.
*The proposal being heard on Thursday, if passed as is currently written, would require wedding barns to get a tavern license, pay the same fees and follow all regulations that apply to bars that operate every night and sell alcohol, regardless of the fact that the wedding bars aren’t public and don’t sell alcohol. An alternative does allow for the barns to get a “no-sale event venue permit” (a new kind of permit) that would allow them only one event per month; a maximum of six per year, and even then would ban any consumption of spirits.
Operators of the wedding barns have said that the measures are nothing less than an effort to squeeze them out of competition in direct contradiction to the stated goal of “increasing free market competition.”
According to an analysis by the Wisconsin Ethics Commission, Lobby Organizations that have promoted passage of the bill include:
Bowling Centers Association of Wisconsin
Kwik Trip Inc.
Mark Anthony Brands Inc
Molson Coors Beverage Company USA LLC
New Glarus Brewing Company
Wisconsin Amusement and Music Operators
Wisconsin Beer Distributors Association Inc.
Wisconsin Craft Beverage Coalition
Wisconsin Fuel & Retail Association (formerly WI Petroleum Marketers & Convenience Store Association)
Wisconsin Hotel and Lodging Association
Wisconsin Independent Businesses, Inc.
Wisconsin Restaurant Association
Wisconsin Wine and Spirit Institute
The Wisconsin Ethics Commission said that Lobby Organizations that have opposed the bill include:
Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation
Wisconsin Farmers Union
No position has been taken by:
League of Wisconsin Municipalities
Wisconsin Association of Local Health Departments and Boards
Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce
Wisconsin Public Health Association
Wisconsin Realtors Association
*(Editor’s note: This clarification was added to the original article)
