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A move is under way to change Utah's liquor laws to do away with the need for the meddlesome "sidecar" and bring the state's pours more in line with the rest of the country.

"I think it's mainstreaming our liquor laws," said Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., with the goal of bringing the state toward "normalcy."

When Huntsman took office in 2005, one of the issues he identified was normalizing Utah's liquor laws, but efforts to make the change three years ago went nowhere.

Now, after negotiations with legislative leaders and restaurant owners, there is an agreement - but as of yet no bill - that would increase the volume of the primary liquor per drink that can be served, but decrease the overall amount in a drink.

Under existing law, any drink served at a restaurant or bar can contain 1 ounce of alcohol, dispensed in a carefully metered shot and up to 1.75 ounces of "flavoring," a broad group of spirits.

A patron wanting more kick has to order a sidecar, a shot on the side that the patron can add to the cocktail.

The proposed change would increase the content to 1.5 ounces of primary liquor - the general standard used elsewhere - and allow only a half-ounce of flavoring.

"We would do away with the sidecar requirement," said Senate Majority Leader Curtis Bramble, R-Provo, although a patron could still request one. He said the move is supported by the Utah Restaurant Association and various hospitality and tourism officials.

But some in the industry oppose the change.

Jannette Knowley, owner of Port O'Call in Salt Lake City, said if the law is changed, people will have just as many drinks in the same amount of time, but consume 50 percent more alcohol.

"The public won't benefit because they're going to buy a drunk, not a drink," she said. "[Legislators] are not thinking things through."

If the state wants to help the tourism industry, she said, it should create a universal temporary membership that would let visitors get into private clubs without having to buy a membership to each one.

The proposed change comes as Bramble plans to sponsor a bill prohibiting grocery stores from selling sweet malt beverages, labeled as "alcopops" by critics who say they are targeted at underage drinkers.

He said the governor suggested that, as the alcopop ban went forward, lawmakers could moderate other liquor laws to help the state's image.

For years, particularly in the run-up to the 2002 Winter Olympics, Utah's sometimes arcane and befuddling liquor laws were a curiosity outside the state.

Huntsman said that when he came into office, his transition team identified the liquor laws as an area that should be changed. It suggested allowing wine sales in grocery stores, easing private club requirements and increasing the 1-ounce limit - long deemed inadequate by out-of-staters and others used to the standard pour.

But, he said, the proposals fell flat with legislators three years ago and haven't been advanced since.

The new initiative sends a message, Huntsman said, to those from outside the state who think you can't get a drink in Utah and goes toward "proving the point that we aren't out of sync with the rest of the nation."

Huntsman says the change would not encourage more alcohol consumption, since a patron wouldn't have to order a sidecar and the amount of flavored spirits in a cocktail would be reduced.

He said he is "fairly confident" that lawmakers will make the change this session.