Liquor reform is close

It's almost last call for liquor reform.

Late Wednesday, the House approved the Senate's version of a compromise that includes eliminating private club membership requirements and the so-called "Zion curtain" barrier in the bar areas of restaurants.

But because of minor fixes made to SB187 in the House, it will need to be voted on again in the Senate before going to Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.

Even so, there was a moment of celebration after the bill passed 65-5. The sponsor of SB187, Sen. John Valentine, R-Orem, hugged the bill's House sponsor, Rep. Greg Hughes, R-Draper. And several members yelled, "Cheers" when the vote was announced.

The bill does away with the membership applications and fees now required to drink in a private club, Utah's equivalent of a bar, and mandates that customers who appear to be under 35 years old have their IDs electronically scanned.

The information collected by the scanners will be held on site for seven days and accessible to law enforcement. However, no central database will be kept on private club customers.

As for restaurants, the glass barrier that now separates servers from customers at the bar areas of restaurants will come down, but minors will now be banned from sitting there.

New restaurants will be required to prepare drinks out of sight of customers, although liquor will still be able to be displayed in the bar areas of those new restaurants.

Hughes called the bill "an important step in the right direction."

Huntsman sought the changes, calling for a normalization of the state's liquor laws to make Utah more tourist-friendly. Hughes carried the governor's bill and his HB347 passed the House earlier this week.

However, Valentine's bill contained several additional elements including a new resort license for ski areas and a study of state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control penalties for facilities that allow minors to drink.

The compromise was reached through negotiations with a number of stakeholders, including representatives of the hospitality and restaurant associations, Mothers Against Drunk Driving and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Asked about the church's involvement during the debate on the bill, Hughes called them an inherent stakeholder. The LDS Church counsels its members not to drink alcohol and gets involved in issues it considers moral.

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