Senate still plans liquor reform bill

The Senate still plans to put forth its own liquor reform bill to maintain control over the issue of eliminating private club membership requirements, Senate President Michael Waddoups said Thursday.

"We need to keep control of it," Waddoups, R-Taylorsville, told reporters. "We feel our position is the more conservative position."

The Senate leader said the bill being carried by Rep. Greg Hughes, R-Draper, for Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. reflects "the more liberal position" on alcohol reform while Sen. John Valentine's bill "is the one our caucus agreed to."

A compromise between the two bills is being negotiated and was expected to be contained in Hughes' bill. Waddoups has said it will do away with private club membership requirements as sought by the governor, but will also contain new restrictions on serving alcohol in restaurants and other controls.

Hughes disagreed with Waddoups' assessment of his bill.

"My bill is not 'less conservative' than Valentine's," Hughes said.

But Hughes said he has no pride of authorship, as long as true reform takes place.

"It is difficult to have two bills on one subject move through the process," said Hughes. "I fully expect that the Valentine bill and my bill will mirror each other — especially on the issue of private clubs and restaurants."

Hughes said he still plans on passing his HB347 in the House and sending it to the Senate. "If in the end it is easier to pass a Senate bill on this, I'm all for that," said Hughes.

Valentine also said it doesn't matter who carries the final bill since he hopes they'll end up being identical. "I really don't care who gets the credit as long as we get this thing done."

He said a draft of the new version of his bill should be ready Monday, only four days before the midnight end of the 2009 session. That may include what he called "a dispensing area" in restaurants as well as some unnamed incentives to cover the costs of any needed remodeling.

Hughes' bill would eliminate membership requirements at private clubs, Utah's equivalent of bars. The governor has said forcing patrons to fill out applications and pay fees before they can drink hurts the state's image. It would also require electronic ID verification and ban underage customers from the restaurant areas of bars.

Valentine's SB187 doesn't address the private club issue, but would mandate that alcoholic drink preparation in restaurants be done out of sight of customers. That's something Waddoups wants because of his concern that restaurants are becoming too much like bars.

The two bills have been described as being on a collision course, especially when it comes to dealing with the so-called "Zion curtain," the often-glass barrier now separating restaurant customers from drink preparations.