Liquor reform may be finalized by Monday

The much-anticipated compromise on private clubs will be unveiled at a Monday morning press conference, Senate President Michael Waddoups, R-Taylorsville, announced. He said he's confident that the final details can be worked out by then.

"It's significant enough not only to call it the issue of this year but also the most significant legislation of the decade," Waddoups said about the reforms.

Both Sen. John Valentine, R-Orem, and Rep. Greg Hughes, R-Draper, are working on the compromise, which is expected to eliminate private-club membership requirements while mandating electronic ID verification and putting new controls on alcohol in restaurants. There also will be an increase in the liability insurance for bars, according to a source close to the negotiations.

Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. had sought to do away with the applications and fees now needed to drink in a private club, Utah's equivalent of a bar. The governor said the membership requirements were not tourist-friendly and hurt the state's image.

Waddoups said the compromise deals with not only of the state's most important industries, tourism, but also moral issues. That, he said, is why The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been involved in the negotiations on the compromise.

"I wouldn't say they are the driving force," the Senate leader said of the church, ranking the Legislature first and Mothers Against Drunk Driving second, followed by the restaurant and hospitality associations.

But the LDS Church is headquartered in Utah, and more than half the state's residents are members, including many lawmakers, he said.

"Any action that happens in Utah will reflect on the church," Waddoups said. "Having said that, they are not the Legislature and they do not legislate policy."

There was also movement on a couple of other liquor bills Friday.

Senate Majority Whip Scott Jenkins, R-Plain City, opened a last-minute bill file Friday so lawmakers could consider a proposal to stiffen penalties for driving under the influence. His proposal would apply to both minors and adults and would increase the amount of time a driver's license is suspended for someone convicted of DUI. Jenkins told senators the additional legislation was the result of negotiations currently under way to sort out several competing liquor reform bills that have been introduced this year.