OCR Text |
Show Balancing act is getting tipsy The Utah Legislature for years has been doing a balancing act that is getting tougher all the time. Lawmakers are trying to balance the moral -sensibilities of their Mormon constituents against the very real needs of the tourism industry. In short, they have to figure out how to make it easy for tourists to get a drink without appearing to be encouraging alcoholic consumption. A recodification last winter of Utah's liquor laws which reportedly passed a Mormon Church muster eased liquor statutes in two ways. One allowed three-day permits for cash bars at conventions and charitable functions. The other allowed restaurants to expand their wine lists to include 750 milliliter bottles-known bottles-known commonly as fifths-along with the so-called splits or tenths, which hold 350 milliliters of beverage. Those were laudable and reasonable accommodations aimed at tempering Utah's reputation of temperance. But having opened the door, lawmakers now are looking at three more proposals that could make ordering a drink in Utah nearly the same as imbibing in any other. Those changes appear to knock at the door of religious restraint and have made some lawmakers squeamish. Under those changes, local officials would have the right to decide how many package agency licenses could be issued in their areas, according to need rather than by state-mandated quotas. Another would expand the hours during which restaurants could serve drinks, thereby allowing them to compete more equitably with private clubs. : . vA Editorial And the third would permit waiters or waitresses to deliver unopened mini-bottles or wine to a patron's table along with the set-up or glass. Any seasoned Utahn can see that the three proposals tread dangerously close to the edge of perceived propriety. They eliminate the need for a patron to get up and hike across the room, slap down cash (no checks of credit cards, please) and cart the purchase back to the table. They also would save food servers from having to apologetically explain the law to astonished tourists . And the proposals would save visitors from " the guessing game of which establishment will serve them wine with their lunch or afford the skier a hot toddy during a break from the slopes. Tourism is Utah's biggest industry. Tourists added more than $1 billion to the state's economy and the tax dollars generated by that visitor spending through sales and liquor taxes help fuel state programs and pay for Utah's rapidly growing school population. Perhaps it is time to let local government that closest to the people make its own determination about how much liquor should be sold within its jurisdiction. With the beefed-up tourism budgets throughout the state, the Legislature should help make Utah as enjoyable and relaxing a place to visit as nearby states that offer many of the same attractions. |