Broad changes for liquor laws

"Cheers!"

That was the spontaneous toast on the House floor this week to the success of Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.'s effort to, in his words, "normalize" the state's liquor laws.

Under the terms of a hard-fought compromise between the governor, lawmakers and a number of interested parties, including The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, private club membership requirements have been eliminated.

The compromise comes as Huntsman is raising his national profile, prompting speculation he may be testing the waters for a presidential run in 2012. Liquor reform is one of a number of issues he's advocated seeking to solidify himself as a moderate Republican.

The governor downplayed what's being called a historic change to Utah's traditionally tough liquor laws, the most significant in decades. In a meeting with the media Thursday, he suggested new renewable energy initiatives were a more important achievement.

But, Huntsman told reporters, the new liquor law that mostly takes effect July 1 shows "we're a fair-minded people in Utah and we want to keep pace with the times. I think that is the message more than anything else."

He also said the compromise will be an economic boost to the hospitality industry and even suggested he'll sign the bill at a private club.

Huntsman sought the change in the state's private club laws to make the state more tourist-friendly. Now, customers will be able to walk into a private club, Utah's equivalent of a bar, without filling out an application or paying a fee.

They will, however, have to allow their IDs to be electronically scanned if they appear to be under 35 years old. That information will be stored on site for seven days and available to law enforcement.

The governor also got another change he wanted, the removal of the so-called "Zion curtain" barriers along the bar areas of restaurants. Customers could not be served over the small, often glass partitions, adding to the confusion.

Existing restaurants will no longer be able to seat underage customers at the bar. New restaurants, however, won't have that restriction because they'll have to prepare alcoholic drinks out of sight of customers.

Huntsman said requiring new restaurants to have a separate dispensing area amounts to "a half-step back" for the state. Still, he said, it was acceptable. "That became a very important part of the whole negotiations as it played out," he said.