Utah liquor law renaissance takes a rest -- for now

By BROCK VERGAKIS

SALT LAKE CITY

Finding a cocktail in heavily Mormon Utah isn't likely to get any easier this year.

Legislative leaders and Utah Gov. Gary Herbert's spokeswoman said Wednesday they remain opposed to lifting the cap on the number of establishments that can serve liquor, but that might not be the case next year.

In Utah, the number of liquor licenses is tied to the state's population.

As recently as Tuesday, some business owners who met all other state requirements were unable to get liquor licenses because of the quota system. They will have to wait until someone else goes out of business before they can set up shop.

A bill that would increase the number of licenses available to restaurants cleared a legislative committee Wednesday, but it would do nothing to expand the number of licenses available to bars where the biggest backlogs are. It would also reduce the number of licenses available to taverns where beer is sold that some bar owners are counting on getting when they don't get liquor licenses. And even its fate is uncertain on the House floor and in the more alcohol-resistant Senate.

Opposition to freeing up more licenses comes a year after lawmakers approved the most sweeping changes to the state's liquor laws in 40 years to boost tourism and make the state seem less odd to those considering moving here.

The effort was shepherded by former Gov. Jon Huntsman -- who resigned months later to become U.S. ambassador to China.

Customers no longer have to fill out an application and pay a fee for the right to enter a bar, which were technically private clubs before July 1. A short wall often made of glass to separate bartenders from their customers in restaurants was also allowed to come down.

"The premise we began this session with is we'd have no substantive change in alcohol policy," said Senate President Michael Waddoups, R-Taylorsville. "The rationale is, you keep changing it every year, you don't know what worked."

Because of the changes, getting into a bar became easier -- but finding one can still be difficult.

State law only allows for 545 restaurants to serve liquor with a meal and for 361 bars to do so without one. Utah has a population of 2.8 million and encompasses more than 82,000 square miles.

Following last year's changes, Democratic Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker sensed there was momentum to continue rewriting liquor laws. He recently ended a ban on allowing more than two bars per block in the city in an effort to generate a vibrant scene downtown. Tourists here frequently wander aimlessly in search of a watering hole. But now that the restriction on the number of bars allowed downtown has been removed, he's found the state doesn't have any more liquor licenses for bars to hand out.

Lisa Marcy, an attorney and spokeswoman for the bar industry's Utah Hospitality Association, said legislators are being inconsistent with calls for encouraging business growth while at the same time restricting it.

But after a long battle last year, she said it's time for a rest.

"We just realized we would be wasting our time to challenge anything or support anything involving alcohol up at the hill. What would be the point?," she said. "Next year's a different story -- a completely different story."

Next year is different because it won't be an election year.

This is the first year Herbert has been at the top of his party's ticket and conservative lawmakers who dominate the Legislature don't want to risk losing their nomination. More than 80 percent of state lawmakers, including Herbert, are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The Mormon church tells its members not to drink alcohol and many people here don't want to be seen as supporting its consumption.