Tavern League don's have tantrum, recommends their Licensed Businesses to hold Weddings in "Vacant Storefronts!!!" No kidding...

Wanna know just how arrogant and out of control conservative organizations have become since Scott Walker and his band of plundering pirate Legislators took control of state government and gave them everything?

Case in Point- The Tavern League: Gov. Tony Evers and AG Josh Kaul don't think wedding barns need liquor licenses because the renters of the barns bring their own stuff.

But the "don's" at the powerful lobbying group Tavern League of Wisconsin don't like spirits to flow free without first funneling cash into their organization.

In a unexpected juvenile-like tantrum, the Tavern League gave marching orders to bars and restaurants to find someone who would have the wedding event of their lifetime in a "vacant storefront" or just some empty "room or hall" someplace. Yea, that'll happen:  

The Tavern League of Wisconsin is providing advice to its members on ways to avoid regulation after Evers' decision — including hosting events in vacant storefronts.

You gotta laugh. Whine, whine, whine....

"This will provide licensed establishments with an unlicensed (area) an opportunity to be a one-stop shop ...that do not have to comply with the laws of a licensed business. Simply amend your liquor license to exempt a room or hall from your license ... you can offer private events with no regulations. The provision would also apply to a vacant storefront in your community."

You can't make this stuff up.

Remember, this all stems from a supposed legal opinion from former AG doofus Brad Schimel who shaped law around the requests of special interests. Who can forget the time he declared high capacity wells off limits to DNR oversight, to any oversight at all. Not kidding:

The decision came after the Tavern League for years pushed former Gov. Scott Walker and now Evers to require such venues to obtain licenses ... "We are not going to sit back and watch business walk out the door," Tavern League lobbyist Scott Stenger said about the new advice. "We are going to evolve and compete on a level playing field." 

Evers, unlike Walker, is not a special interest patsy...

Stenger said Evers' decision marks a "sea change" that will "provide a whole new type of business and will provide value" to his members.

Even "free market" (they aren't really) conservatives were a little surprised:

The conservative law firm Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) President and Chief Counsel Rick Esenberg said, "The status quo has not changed in any way. The law ... remain the same. While it is disappointing that the Tavern League continues to ratchet up their rhetoric on this issue, it is not surprising." Esenberg said bars and restaurants "can certainly own spaces for private events but doing so will not allow them to operate those places as a public facility or to sell liquor without a license.”

But despite the law...

The Tavern League's memo to bars and restaurants says bars and restaurants could provide alcohol and food for the private event because they cannot directly sell the alcohol, the memo reads.

But if that doesn't  work, the Tavern League threw in everything but the kitchen sink:

The memo also outlines rules that apply to licensed venues but not to private events, including having closing hours, adhering to the state's smoking ban and following fire code safety regulations.

GOP Hates Weddings!!! What's next, Wisconsinites required to purchase a $100,000 license to buy beer and wine and the store?

Let me start the same way I did for my last post: After combing through The Wheeler report this morning, a few job-killing GOP sponsored ideas stood out. The irony? Since deep-pocketed business interests now control state government, they've decided to use their power to protect themselves and their bottom lines, by killing off other rising business opportunities and development. I did not see this one coming.

The Tavern League of Wisconsin Owns Wisconsin: Let's start with this gem from the summer of 2017:

A proposal in a memo obtained by a conservative group could force brewers and wineries to work with distributors to sell their products instead of selling directly to customers. Opponents say the Wisconsin Tavern League and alcohol distributors are pushing the plan.

...fast forward to now, where a simple bill to extend winery hours till midnight completely blew up, thanks to the Tavern League:

As the state Senate convenes, it may consider (an amendment to a) bill that would require event and wedding venues such as barns and galleries to obtain alcohol licenses. For events that want to serve liquor, they will be after the same hard-to-find licenses in Door County valued by some municipalities at $100,000. Due to Door County’s low permanent population relative to the influx of tourists, many municipalities have given out all of their liquor licenses and have none remaining for these event venues to purchase.

Wedding and event planner Carrie Baldwin Smith said,“If this really passes the way it’s sounding, this is going to be traumatic to any place up here.” Baldwin Smith said her clients purchase all of the beer, wine and liquor themselves for the events she manages. While the Tavern League believes the new law will promote fairness, the current system is not much different from going to the grocery store and buying alcohol for a party.

And the bully in the rooms says...

Scott Stenger, lobbyist for the Tavern League of Wisconsin, said the bill will level the playing field for all businesses that want to sell liquor. “That is the whole purpose behind licensure. When there is alcohol being dispensed they require you to be licensed.”

No Representation? No Special Elections Bites Scott Walker in Ass:  Well, this didn't take long:

The current version of the bill before the Senate is limited to the extension of winery hours, but the Senate can consider adding the Assembly’s amendment to the bill.

However, anyone in Door County or throughout the 1st Senate district will have a hard time being heard on the issue. The Senate seat representing Door County is vacant after Frank Lasee left the position in December. Governor Walker has not called a special election for the seat, citing unnecessary cost at the end of the legislature’s session, opting to fill it with the election in November.

This is what happens when you try to game the system. And voters will have nothing to say, no representation. And I'll bet they still vote Republican. Amazing:

Event venues in the county who want to serve liquor may be out of luck should the bill pass. Liberty Grove, Baileys Harbor and the Town of Egg Harbor, all of which harbor popular barn wedding and event venues, do not have any liquor licenses remaining. The same goes for the Village of Sister Bay, which is expecting construction of a 40-acre wedding barn and campus in the village to begin later this year.

Walker and French explorer/Rep. Andre Jacque push for Tavern League Payoff in Brown Jug Law.

Just another crazy bill from Republican Rep. Andre Jacque (R-De Pere), that brings Christmas just a little earlier to the bar owners in this state. The Tavern League won't hesitate to write out a few checks during the upcoming campaign season either.

We're talking about the Brown Jug Law: The Journal Sentinel actually misled readers by stating the bill is similar to the one in Alaska. It isn't even close:

Michelin Man Jacque.

The bill, patterned after the decade-old "Brown Jug law" in Alaska, would allow alcohol purveyors to sue anyone under age 21 for $1,000 in small claims court if the person tries to trick them into selling alcohol or allowing them into a bar illegally.

Actually, the Alaskan law pays the fine out to three different parties, and nothing goes to the bar owner, unless there's an out of court settlement. Money goes to the clerk to administer the law, to an alcohol education program, and finally to a charity. That’s why this is another Republican giveaway to campaign contributors like the Tavern league and bar owners. $1,000 goes directly to bar owners.

And like most badly written special interest laws, no one expects the law to be used very often, or that it could be abused because of their poorly worded language in the Republican legislation.

Scott Stenger, spokesman for the Tavern League of Wisconsin, said he doesn't expect tavern owners to spend all their time in small claims court going after college students for $1,000 fines.

These surprising details and many more are explained in this clip from WPT’sHere and Now:

Health First Wisconsin - formerly Smoke Free Wisconsin - registered against it. The group's executive director, Maureen Busalacchi, said in a statement that the bill could provide a "financial incentive to licensed premises owners, almost rewarding them for allowing underage drinking to occur at their establishments" through entrapment.