The 3-1 vote comes after Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. recently said the state should do away with membership fees - setting the stage for a major overhaul of the state's liquor laws the likes of which hasn't been seen since diners were allowed to order wine by the glass beginning in 1990.
Commissioner Kathryn Balmforth opposed any study, saying during a Wednesday meeting of the Utah Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission that the proposal to abolish fees is being driven solely by the liquor industry.
"We have a mandate to ensure that liquor is reasonably available to the public who wish to have it," said Balmforth. "People can already do that."
But Commissioner Bobbie Coray made the motion instructing staff members to gather information on club fees, which have been in place since the 1960s and generally run from $3 to $15 or more, depending on whether they are for temporary or annual memberships. She said she would support a public hearing so that "all stakeholders" may comment before the commission makes a recommendation to the Legislature.
"There's supposedly a religious divide in Utah that centers on alcohol," said Coray, a nondrinker who before Wednesday had often sided with Balmforth in votes. "But the real divide is people on all sides of an issue not talking to each other."
Coray said some organizations, such as country clubs and fraternal groups, may want to remain private, while clubs that simply serve alcoholic beverages may want to abolish memberships, which cannot be used at multiple establishments.
"I've said that I've wanted to eliminate liquor laws that seem to be unreasonable." said Coray. "This should be done in a orderly way, having a sensitivity to people who wish to drink and those who do not want to have drinking in their environment."
Voting with Coray were commission chairman Sam Granato, also a nondrinker, and Mary Ann Mantes, a social drinker. Commissioner Gordon Strachan was out of town and unavailable for comment, but he usually forms a voting block with Mantes, who with Strachan are the only non-Mormons on the board.
A possible stumbling block to abolishing club fees could be The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which counsels its members to eschew alcohol.
But on Wednesday, LDS Church spokesman Scott Trotter said that although church officials are keenly interested in the state's liquor laws and have been discussing membership fees "with people involved in the private club issue, the church is reserving comment until it sees a final draft of the law."
Any draft legislation could be months away.
In May, the Utah Hospitality Association filed a petition to collect signatures for a statewide initiative on fees for the 2010 ballot. The hospitality association could have a difficult time with its because signatures must be collected from 10 percent of the number of voters in the 2008 gubernatorial election - and in 26 of Utah's 29 Senate districts.
Gov. Huntsman has said he hopes the Legislature will address the issue when it convenes early next year.
The Hospitality Association wants the state's 77 taverns - which can serve only 3.2 beer - to be allowed to stock heavier beers, wines and distilled spirits, moving bars into the private club category. And, membership fees for both the expanded taverns and clubs would be abolished.
Under that proposal, taverns, bars and clubs would be similar to airport lounges, where alcoholic beverages can be sold with or without food, and patrons can be served at a bar or table.
Kyle Robbins, who began working as a doorman at Port O' Call private club in Salt Lake City in 1990, said tourists are befuddled when they come in to buy lunch or dinner, only to be informed that they must first purchase a membership card.
"It's not uncommon that when a doorman greets them, out-of-town visitors think the membership fee is some kind of a scam," said Robbins. "It makes Utah look bad."
The National Conference of State Legislatures said Utah is the only state that has passed a statute requiring private clubs to charge membership fees.
