Liquor laws not really that bad
“Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow you may be in Utah.”
Bumper stickers, T-shirts and shot glasses with the above slogan were on sale throughout Utah during the 2002 Winter Olympics. But after a few weeks in Utah, visitors wondered whether the perception of Utah as a virtual party-free zone was just another example of media-fed misunderstanding of the Beehive State.
Now that the Games are over, is it time for Utah to change its unusual liquor laws, or did the Olympics prove the laws are just right for Utah?
Madelene McBride, manager of the state liquor agency in Logan, said she thinks the laws work well.
“I think the laws are fine. They’re really not that hard,” McBride said. “When people first move here, they sometimes think it’s strange, but they become accustomed to it.”
McBride said beer and liquor can be purchased from 10 a.m. until 1 a.m. throughout the state.
Jason Santos, a 25-year-old from California who lived in Utah for two months while working with a broadcasting company covering the Olympics, said it was easier to buy alcohol than he thought it would be.
“I had the impression that it was a huge hassle to get a drink and really it wasn’t that different than L.A.,” Santos said.
Santos did note there were a couple of big differences.
“We don’t have measured shots,” he said. “It’s up to the bartender how much to pour. Also, some of the liquor in the state liquor stores here cost close to double what we pay in L.A.”
The Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control was at pains to point out before, during and even after the Games that, first, it is not that hard to buy alcohol in Utah, and second it is not that hard to get a temporary permit to serve alcohol in Utah. The DABC even posted instructions on its Web site for visitors.
In addition to instructions, the DABC posted relevant information on its Web site, including 18 other states which control the sale of alcoholic beverages in one way or another. According to the Web site, there are currently 1,292 establishments in Utah that sell alcoholic beverages. Another fact listed is the historic vote Utah legislators cast to repeal national prohibition in 1933.
Profits from alcohol sales in states usually go to the state coffers rather than to private businesses. That point is most certainly not lost on the Utah legislature, especially in a year in which the legislature is facing record budget deficits. For Fiscal Year 2000, $14 million from taxes on liquor went to the fund that pays for school lunches. Another $28 million went into the state’s general fund.
Doug McDonald, chief economist for Utah’s tax commission, said the commission wouldn’t know how much money the state made in additional taxes during the Olympics until mid-April. It is worth noting the legislature estimated a net revenue of around $73 million from the Olympics, and if the actual number is much lower than that, the state will have to deal with budget shortfalls yet again this year, he said.