Major alcohol bill fails to advance in Utah legislature over cities having ‘proximity’ control

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — A big change to Utah’s alcohol laws was shot down by Utah’s Senate after concerns that it would allow local cities control over how close alcohol could be sold to parks, schools, and churches.

The bill, S.B. 328, being run by the state’s top budget chair Jerry Stevenson (R-Layton), was meant to specifically address the state’s new development at the Point of the Mountain. Stevenson said it has planned open green spaces with playgrounds would have fallen under Utah’s definition of proximity.

“We ran into a little opposition to that, and so we came up with the idea so the local community would make those decisions,” Stevenson said.

But the switch gave some Senators heartburn because it would have allowed all local governments to authorize “an outlet or restaurant with an alcohol license to be near a public park or playground.”

Currently, Utah law says restaurants and liquor stores can’t be within 300 feet (measured by pedestrian travel) of a church, public or private school, public park, public playground, or public library, or 200 feet if measured in a straight line.”

Lawmakers are eyeing changes to proximity rules as many new major mixed-use developments get planned with restaurants and bars close to open spaces. Just last year, the downtown revitalization zone near the Delta Center had its proximity rules loosened, which Stevenson said “evaporates proximity issues.”

Sen. Lincoln Fillmore (R-South Jordan) proposed doing the same thing — by swapping the bill to target just the specific Point of the Mountain development and proposing that lawmakers address who has control over proximity decisions next year.

“The idea to shift proximity decisions from the state to local governments is a significant policy change that I’m willing to say might be the right one, but I think it needs more vetting,” he said.

Senator Stevenson didn’t want to make the swap, saying, “It would not work with what we’re trying to do.”

The proximity issue was also why Sen. Kirk Cullimore (R-Draper) said he voted against the bill.

“It gives me pause in allowing cities and counties to make decisions that have generally been considered from a broader perspective at the state level,” he said.

The bill ended up failing 13 to 15 and included key ‘no’ votes from Senate leadership.

The bill would have also allowed for a “straw test” where a bartender could taste the drink by holding their finger over a straw, which had previously been illegal. It also would have increased a tax on alcohol from 88.5% to 88.85% with the extra funds slated to go toward inmate education programs.