End the booze bloat
A task force appointed to review state regulation of the booze industry operated with a mandate to recommend “forward-thinking changes.”
But on what planet do jacking up taxes and expanding the regulatory bureaucracy count as “forward-thinking?”
Now, Treasurer Deborah Goldberg, whose office oversees regulation of the alcohol industry, deserves credit for launching this review. The regulatory structure of the alcohol industry has long been a patchwork of antiquated and consumer-unfriendly laws that favor special interests. And the task force has actually included some sensible recommendations — to allow all grocery stores to sell beer and wine, for example, instead of an arbitrary few, and allowing bars and package stores to accept outof-state driver’s licenses as proof of legal drinking age.
But the final report — which clocks in at a jaw-dropping 288 pages — also recommends doubling the excise tax on beer, wine and spirits, and insults consumers by calling it a “health and safety” measure. The task force also wants to raise licensing fees and fines for violating liquor laws.
All that new revenue would help to finance a larger regulatory bureaucracy. And while more inspectors may indeed be needed, the oversight role would also expand. As just one example, the task force has recommended that regulators screen all groups that conduct substance abuse education in schools to ensure they have “the proper credentials and/or qualifications.”
The state would also retain some of the onerous regulations that vex retailers, and all without much relief for consumers or local licensing authorities, which would still have to beg Beacon Hill to increase the number of alcohol licenses, now with more bureaucratic hurdles to clear.
And it’s easy to see the heavy hand of special interests, including the package store lobby, in some of the recommendations — for example, the limit on selling alcohol at discounted rates. Take that, Total Wine.
All this — and happy hour would still be against the law.
Goldberg “has just begun reviewing” the report and will then decide which recommendations she will ask the Legislature to consider. Our suggestion: If it doesn’t benefit consumers, leave it out.