Minnesota stakeholders say liquor law rewrites are on tap in 2022 - Park Rapids Enterprise
Ahead of the 2022 legislative session, lawmakers and industry leaders started work on an omnibus liquor bill that could clear the divided Statehouse.
ST. PAUL — Minnesota liquor retailers and craft beverage officials said they're hopeful that 2022 will be the year for extensive liquor law re-writes at the Capitol.
And that means Minnesotans could see more take-home options for sale at craft breweries, distilleries and cideries or additional options made available in local liquor stores starting next year if lawmakers sign off.
The push for changes comes after years of gridlock between stakeholders in the distribution system and after craft breweries launched public pressure campaigns to convince lawmakers to lift caps on the barrels of beer they can produce each year while still offering to-go sale options in their taproom.
Lawmakers kicked off the debate earlier this year, setting the table for a big list of reforms.
“Minnesota’s liquor laws were not written in the stars," the committee's chair, Rep. Zack Stephenson, DFL-Coon Rapids, said during an October hearing. "Just because they are doesn’t mean that they always must be. Our job is to review the laws that we have, determine if they’re serving the people of Minnesota and make changes as appropriate. And I think in a number of areas we could be doing better."
More recently, advocates for groups representing craft brewers, wholesalers, Teamsters and liquor retailers came together to set the stage for an omnibus liquor bill. While its details were still not concrete, stakeholders said just having meetings was a step forward.
"Last year was a tough, tough one, just because no liquor bills were taken up by the Commerce Committee. And so it didn't have any traction whatsoever," said Megan Park, an owner of Unmapped Brewery in Minnetonka and a spokeswoman for the Minnesota Craft Beverage Council. "I am feeling a little more optimistic moving into the 2022 session ... it seems like a lot more conversations are being had amongst all the different players."
Minnesota Licensed Beverage Association Executive Director Tony Chesak agreed that conversations were more consistent and constructive than in previous years. And that's likely to pave the way for a compromise liquor bill in the Legislature.
"I think there's a lot of things that can be done in 2022, I really do," Chesak said. "I'm not sure everybody is going to walk away from the table with a big smile on their face, but I'm hoping that everybody gets some of what they're looking for so we can have a little bit of peace in the valley going forward."
A key gatekeeper in the Senate, Commerce Committee Chair Gary Dahms, R-Redwood Falls, has said he'd take up a proposal once brewers, wholesalers, union officials and other interested parties could reach an accord about what should be in it.
"As always, we'll take a look at any proposed ideas and work with stakeholders to see if they can find agreement," Dahms said in a statement.
Despite public support for some of the changes, that bar has been too high to bring proposals before the committee since the groups have yet to reach a deal on legislation. Stephenson said he planned to put up a package of liquor bills when lawmakers return to St. Paul at the end of January.
"We're going to try to find as much common ground, as much compromise as possible," he said.
Follow Dana Ferguson on Twitter @bydanaferguson, call 651-290-0707 or email [email protected]
source: https://www.parkrapidsenterprise.com/news/government-and-politics/7319819-Minnesota-stakeholders-say-liquor-law-rewrites-are-on-tap-in-2022
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