Alaska Governor Introduces New Alcohol Bill

[The Straight Story]

House Bill 91 / Senate Bill 85: ALCOHOL: LOCAL OPTION / LICENSING / MINORS

The Governor’s office introduced bills in both houses to limit alcohol distribution to damp communities. The bill would reduce the current allowed amount of distilled liquor by 75% and the current amount of wine and beer by 50%. Additionally, there are provisions in the bill which increase the penalties for selling alcohol to a minor, for bootlegging, and for consuming alcohol as a minor.

I think there are multiple problems with this bill. Such a drastic reduction in the amount of alcohol allowed into a damp community may convince communities to change from “damp” to “wet” (“wet” is the same as “unrestricted”. “Unrestricted” can mean several things: the community decides to have importation limits above “damp” levels; to have liquor sales in restaurants, to have liquor stores, or to have package stores. The community can choose which if any of these options it wants to enact).

The impact of no limits on amounts of alcohol probably would be worse. It may also actually increase the criminal activity of bootlegging, with the “street value” of imported alcohol rising exponentially.

I believe the Governor’s office has good intentions. But there are many tools that public policy makers have to fight the problems that bootlegging and underage drinking present, and we need to use all of them – not just one or two, as this bill does. I also think that the Governor would have benefited by listening to the people on the ground – the people in our communities who know and fully understand this problem.

The House version of this bill is in the Community and Regional Affairs Committee which I co-Chair. Its current status is “under review pending pro & con input from western Alaska”.

http://www.deltadiscovery.com/insidebethelnews/insidebethelnews.html