Lawmakers Do the Right Thing with Liquor Law Changes

State legislature enacts a quick fix to Utah's long festering liquor license "bottleneck"

Just like clockwork, the Utah legislature responded to Governor Herbert's call to action, and held a 1-1/2 hour powwow yesterday to enact a quick fix to Utah's long festering liquor license "bottleneck", with lopsided favorable votes of 26-1 and 57-10 in the State Senate and House respectively. The Trib's all over the story again this morning, with post special legislative session reports by Trib columnist heavyweights Robert Gehrke and Peg McEntee:

• Utah Legislature OKs adding 90 restaurant liquor licenses
• McEntee: Lawmakers do the right thing with liquor changes

Curious about how your local legislators voted on this stopgap curative bill, which, incidentally, was sponsored in the House by Ogden's own Rep. Gage Froerer? Happily, all Weber County situated legislators, in both the Senate and the House supported Gage's efforts with their "aye" votes. Yes... even the ever-pious Senator Stuart Reid voted to expand Utah's liquor license quotas.  Just as sage WCF reader Blackrulon has repeatedly reminded us, in Utah, ultimately, "money talks"...most of the time, at least. 

And which notable state legislators cast nay votes, standing firm against the increased availability of demon rum?

1) GOP Nutcase State Senator Margeret Dayton, for one (no surprises there) and 2) GOP Utah State Auditor Primary Election candidate John Dougall. Both of these idiots are quite obviously "wacked out" beyond belief.

Hopefully those WCF readers among us of the GOP persuasion who live in the 21st century and are philosophically inclined to be pro-economic development will take careful note of Mr. Dougall's curious "nay" vote as they visit their Primary Election polling places next Tuesday.

Ninety new liquor licenses in a State as big as Utah seems to be a mere drop in the bucket to us, by the way. Sodden question: Will the Utah legislature be back with a similar fix next year? And the year after that?  Howbout the novel concept of letting the free market decide and abandoning the (socialist) principle of artificially limiting the numbers of Utah liquor licenses altogether?

The floor's open for your comments, folks.  Who'd like to put a cap on Utah's latest likker law fix?