My father used to say the road to Hell is paved with good intentions. That certainly appears to be true in Wisconsin, where a bill extending winery tasting room hours to midnight from 9 p.m. seems dead in the legislature despite wide support.
That’s because the Wisconsin Tavern League chose to attach an amendment that would require people who convert barns into wedding reception halls and allow guests to supply their own alcohol without the added expense of a liquor license. That’s addressing a problem – taverns are losing business to these “barns.”
That amendment also passed unanimously because it seemed to legislators to be a good thing.
The amendment states: “No owner or person in charge of property that is not a public place and who receives payment for temporary use of the property by another person for a specific event may permit the consumption of alcohol beverages on the property, unless the person has an appropriate retail license or permit and the consumption of alcohol beverages occurs on that portion of the property covered by the retail license or permit.”
The Legislative Council said the practical effect of the amendment “appears to be that private events such as weddings, fundraisers and parties could not include alcohol beverage consumption if they are held on rented, unlicensed premises.”
And that led the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty to say the amendment could apply to people who charge for parking on their property for sports events – and therefore would apply to tailgate parties before a football game.
With that, support for the bill melted away. The Wisconsin Tavern League says it would welcome an amendment clarifying the tailgate issue, but it’s too late in the legislative session for that.