Watered-down version of Utah’s big alcohol bill revived

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — After initially failing in the Senate over concerns about cities controlling how close alcohol could be sold to parks and churches, a stripped-down version of a bill changing Utah’s alcohol laws is advancing in the Utah legislature.

The fifth substitute to S.B. 328 is headed for a House vote but will now only allow a planned new development at the Point of the Mountain, which sits on state-owned land, to decide its proximity rules.

“This is kind of a unique situation where we’ve got 600 acres of land that we’re developing … it has a large — an 18-acre park that traverses the entire section,” said Sen. Lincoln Fillmore (R- South Jordan) during Wednesday afternoon’s Senate debate. “Just to make sure that it is going to be a prime spot for recreating and dining, we wanted to make sure there are restaurants able to be located there.”

Senator Kathleen Riebe (D – Cottonwood Heights), voted against the measure and argued that there were other areas in the state where restaurants or hotels were struggling with proximity laws.

“I think that if this is good economic business sense for that community, I think it would make good economic business sense for every community,” she said.

The latest version also takes out a so-called “sin tax,” which would have added revenues to create inmate education programs. However, it still allows for a “straw test,” where mixologists or bartenders can still taste a drink by placing their finger over a straw.

The bill also allows for grocery pickup of alcohol with strict ID and camera requirements.