Quirky liquor laws hurt economic development

Quirky liquor laws hurt economic development
Reform » Utah real-estate group wants restrictions eased

By Dawn House, The Salt Lake Tribune
Updated:03/06/2009 08:53:26 AM MST


Commercial real-estate professionals are making a last-minute appeal to state lawmakers to ease quirky liquor laws they say are hampering economic development in Utah.

The plea from Real Estate Professionals for Economic Growth, representing 95 percent of all commercial real-estate transactions in Utah, came in a letter sent to all members of the House and Senate, where legislation is being considered to do away with Utah's private club law.

The group points to two studies showing that the state's peculiar liquor laws are a roadblock to corporate leaders looking to relocate or expand in Utah.

The research, conducted in 2005 and 2006, was completed when the economy was "white hot two short years ago. Given the current economic climate we now face, we see it as even more urgent," said the letter signed by the group's president, William Martin.

"Even simple moves to make our liquor laws less quirky can go a long way to improving our image," said Martin. "People don't seem to be willing to face the issue of making logical changes to our laws and concentrate instead on enforcing laws dealing with alcohol abuse."

The group supports Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. in his push to abolish private membership fees people must pay in Utah before they can buy a drink in a what other states consider a public bar.

The governor's spokeswoman, Lisa Roskelly, said Huntsman's "ongoing efforts to normalize Utah's liquor policy has a direct correlation to economic development, which is a critical issue in these economic times."

Corporate executives interviewed in the study said that every state had its own peculiarities. But no other perception was as distinct or distinguishable as was Utah's. The most dominant perception is that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints wields influence over state affairs; the second was Utah's "unusual liquor laws."

One respondent said that although Utah's liquor laws aren't too complicated, "they give the state a weird reputation" that "plays to the whole uptight image."

Said another: "It's not that it's that much harder to get a drink in Utah, there is just something weird about knowing people don't want you to have one."

The research included hundreds of individual and group interviews published in the book entitled Choosing Utah.