Minnesota Legislative Session
1998
Legislation To Reduce Youth Access To Alcohol
This past legislative session there was an effort to again introduce comprehensive legislation to reduce youth access to alcohol.
Represenative Linda Wejcman's bill (HF2805) to reduce youth access to alcohol (compliance checks, tighter regulations on home delivery of alcohol, graduated administrative penalties, fines for underage buyers, and allowing cities to ban miniature bottles) WAS NOT PASSED by the Business Regulation's Subcommittee on February 9, 1998.
At that hearing, Representative Wejcman attempted to scale down the bill to get it passed. She deleted everything and proposed an ammendment containing the following:
- Including in the cost of on-sale license fees the cost of any enforcement checks to determine compliance with law
- Maintaining the restrictions originally proposed for home deliveries
- Requiring cities that conduct compliance checks or server training to report results and requirements to the Commissioner of Commerce.
That amendment WAS NOT PASSED.
Representative Jim Farrell then offered an ammendment to the Omnibus Liquor Bill (HF2695) to ban home deliveries and allow on-sale license fees to be increased to include the cost of any enforcement checks to determine compliance with the laws related to selling alcohol. These were both accepted by the subcommittee on Feb. 9, 1998.
However, the full Commerce Committee in the House removed the home delivery ban from the Omnibus Liquor bill, but kept the license fee increase intact. This bill was later passed on the House floor.
Senator Ember Reichgott Junge's companion bill (SF2147) did not receive a hearing in the Senate because the companion bill in the House (HF2805) did not pass.
The Senate version of the Omnibus Liquor Bill which was passed on the Senate floor did not carry any of the House provisions that AAT supported.
The Omnibus Liquor Bill (House and Senate) went to conference committee and the provision that would allow on-sale license fees to be increased was removed.
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