Brief Description: Addressing liquor laws.

Sponsors: Senate Committee on Labor, Commerce, Research & Development (originally sponsored by Senators Kohl-Welles, Clements, Keiser and Parlette).

Senate Committee on Labor, Commerce, Research & Development

Background: The Liquor Control Board (LCB) is responsible for overseeing the manufacture, sale, and distribution of spirits, beer, and wine in this state. The statutes that the LCB enforces were originally passed in 1933. The statutes have been amended over the years to accommodate certain issues raised by different interest groups.

Summary: A joint select committee on beer and wine regulation is established. The committee must review laws relating to the manufacture, distribution, and sale of beer and wine to determine whether those laws should be continued in their present form or changed to decrease the number of bills introduced in the Legislature each year.

The committee consists of eight members including the chair and ranking minority members of the Senate Labor, Commerce, Research and Development Committee and the House Commerce and Labor Committee. The leaders of the two largest caucuses in the Senate and House must each appoint one member of their respective caucus.

The joint select committee is to report its findings and recommendations to the appropriate committees of the Legislature by December 1, 2008.

Votes on Final Passage:

Senate      32   17
House      70   27