The commission also was admonished that loosening the state's liquor laws would send a dangerous message to youth that Utah is not as concerned about alcohol consumption as before, likely increasing prospects of underage drinking.
Two dozen speakers offered those and other divergent opinions in the commission's third public hearing on revamping Utah's liquor laws. The first two, in June, dealt largely with abolishing private club memberships. So commissioners focused this time on other ways people thought the system could be improved.
The hospitality industry weighed in immediately.
Ski Utah President Nathan Rafferty told of a reporter from San Diego who came to Salt Lake City to write a ski story but had such a hard time navigating private club rules that when he met with ski industry officials later for dinner, "guess what we talked about all night. Guess what he led his story with?
"We can't control the weather. We can't control fuel prices or what airlines fly into the Salt Lake airport. But we can control our liquor laws," said Rafferty, contending the $1 billion skiing and $6 billion tourism industries will benefit greatly from making it less confusing for visitors to get an alcoholic beverage.
Restaurants, too, said Utah Restaurant Association official Hans Fuegi, who also is on Utah's tourism development board. "The Zion Curtain issue is very, very confusing," he said of several provisions - such as a ban on restaurant bartenders handing a drink over the bar to a customer - he thinks should be eliminated.
But representative of Citizens for Families, the Coalition for Ethics and Accountability in Government, Mothers Against Drunk Driving and United Women's Forum argued against any changes that suggest it is easier to get alcohol in Utah.
"That would have a negative, very adverse effect on youth," said Valerie Mills of Citizens for Families. "We cannot sell them out for increased hospitality."
Coalition spokesman Phil Wright added that Utah's top tourist attraction is the LDS Temple. Most people visiting it "won't do so with a bottle of Jack Daniels under their arm," he predicted, encouraging the commission "not to change laws that have served Utah so well for so many years."
On a more detailed level, Meeche White of the National Ability Center in Park City said fundraisers for nonprofit organizations like hers, which teaches outdoor recreation skills to people with disabilities, would be enhanced if wineries and breweries were allowed to donate their products for events.
Caterer Mary Crafts said better control over alcohol consumption would come from letting caterers operate cash bars where they own the liquor and sell the drinks.
When people do get hurt because of overconsumption, justice would be served better if the state removed a ceiling on compensatory damages and allowed punitive damages, said attorney Alan Mortensen, representing the Utah Association of Justice.
Proposed changes to the state's liquor laws are expected to be presented to the Legislature in January.
mikeg@sltrib.com
