Golden was among 65 people in favor of doing away with private club fees during a two-hour hearing before members of the Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission in Salt Lake City. Nine people said the state should not abolish a 1960s law requiring imbibers to become dues-paying members of a private club to buy a glass of wine or distilled spirits.

This summer, commissioners will make recommendations on whether to eliminate private club requirements, which will be passed along to lawmakers. But after listening to dozens of people in two public hearings conducted this month, Commissioner Bobbie Coray said she sees no logic behind the state law requiring private drinking clubs.

Utah is the only state with such a requirement.

"If membership fees are eliminated, clubs might start having cover charges," she said, "but then nobody could blame the added charges on Utah's quirky liquor laws."

Coray predicted that commissioners may decide on a draft proposal within the next two months. The issue could be decided during the 2009 Legislature that begins in January.

Joel Racker, representing the Utah Tourism Industry Coalition, said the nine hospitality associations in the coalition unanimously approved doing away with membership fees. Clubs fees distort supposed difficulties in getting a drink in Utah, he said. And tourism is a $6 billion industry in Utah, generating more than 113,000 jobs.

"It's all about hospitality," said Racker, who is president of the Utah Valley Convention & Visitors Bureau. "We want people to feel welcome."

Hans Fuigi, with the Utah Restaurant Association, said visitors become confused when they can get a drink at a restaurant but they have to pay a fee at a private club, which also appears to be a restaurant. "It's a business' worst nightmare," he said, when visitors return home to pass along complaints to their friends.

But Jeff Novak, chairman of Citizens for Ethics and Accountability in Government, said the state's priorities are skewed if club requirements are abolished to appease tourists. He said club memberships protect against underage drinking and alcohol-related traffic accidents.

"Who will go to the grieving parents and say, 'We're hospitable to our tourists'? " he asked.

The Utah Hospitality Association has filed an initiative petition with the state to put the issue before voters in 2010. But Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., who backs the change, said he hopes the proposal can be decided earlier.

A spokesman for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which counsels members not to drink alcohol, said leaders will not comment until they see draft legislation.