A pair of liquor reform bills appear to be on a crash course, and Sen. Steve Urquhart is trying to fashion a compromise to salvage something in the legislative session's final two weeks.

A Senate committee on Friday approved a bill sponsored by Sen. John Valentine, R-Orem, that would make the so-called Zion Curtain much more formidable.

Valentine's bill, which won the unanimous -- albeit reluctant -- support of the Senate Business and Labor Committee, would require drinks served in restaurants to be prepared in a back room or behind a 10-foot-high wall.

The goal is to keep young diners from seeing the beverages mixed or poured, out of fear it might entice them to take up drinking. Current state law prohibits serving drinks across the bar and requires the server to walk around a wall -- in many places a short plexiglass ridge -- that has been dubbed "The Zion Curtain."

His measure would also make it illegal to appear drunk, gutting a Utah Supreme Court ruling that said simply being drunk is not a crime.

It clashes, in some cases directly with HB347, sponsored by Rep. Greg Hughes, R-Draper, and backed by Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., who seeks to "normalize" the state's alcohol policy and make the laws more tourist-friendly.

Hughes' bill would do away with the requirement that bar patrons buy a private club membership in order to drink, instead requiring a patron's identification to be scanned to verify age. It also would allow restaurants to serve drinks over the bar, dismantling the Zion Curtain. No one under 21 years of age would be allowed in the bar area.

"It's clear this bill … is on a collision course with House Bill 347," said Sen. Dan Liljenquist, R-Bountiful.

Urquhart is trying to find some middle ground, floating the idea of a 10-day membership that would buy access to multiple bars and clubs that opt into the program. It would target tourists interested in visiting more than one bar, but would be open to Utah residents, as well.

"You're not going to eliminate private clubs in this session, I can guarantee you," said Urquhart, who would leave unchanged the way drinks are served in restaurants.

"This issue in here of the Zion Curtain, I think, should just go away," he said. "There flat out is not a problem with Iggy's or Chili's or T.G.I. Friday's."

But some who testified in favor of Valentine's bill disagree, saying they should be free to visit restaurants without having their children exposed to booze.

"Our family values would be competing with a social norm that glamorizes alcohol," said Kris Kimball, a mother of two teens. She said the blenders and maraschino cherries "look kind of tantalizing" to children.

"I'm not concerned with them ordering a drink. I'm concerned … about them being in an environment where they witness the mixing [and consumption]," she said. "It's scary. It's bombarding them."

Federal court rulings would prevent the display bottles and advertising at restaurant bars from being removed.

But Eric Slaymaker, president of a group that owns a number of T.G.I. Friday's and Winger's restaurants, said that building a 10-foot wall to shield the drink preparation is impractical, especially in a bad economy. He said the requirements might force some of his restaurants to close.

"Some of these changes don't make sense," he said. "If we want to make Colorado the ski capital of the Rockies, then this is a good bill."

Restaurant owners could seek credits to defray the expense of the required changes, but Slaymaker says they don't cover the cost. The Utah Restaurant Association estimates it would cost about $100,000 per restaurant to comply.

The Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control also opposes the change, said liquor commissioner Gordon Strachan.

"Not only is the cost very significant, but it makes Utah look even stranger," he said.

gehrke@sltrib.com