The Madison City Council voted Tuesday to refer an ordinance to ban alcohol sold in amounts smaller than a six-pack to its first June meeting to provide more time for debate from alders and industry leaders.
The proposed ordinance would ban the sale of beer and malt liquor in amounts less than a six-pack of bottles, liquor in the amounts of 200 milliliters or less and the sale of fortified wine for consumption off the premises on which it was sold.
Districts 4 and 8, two downtown districts near and including the University of Wisconsin campus, already have this ban in effect as a result of the Madison Alcohol License Review Committee’s vote on July 1, 2008. Under the current ordinance, the ban would take effect for the whole city Sept. 1.
According to ordinance sponsor Ald. Michael Schumacher, District 18, this is part of a wider effort to curb alcohol abuse in the city. The ban targets public intoxication and habitual drinking among a specific population, including chronic abusers of alcohol.
“We are beginning to see problems with people buying so called ‘cheap liquor,'” Schumacher said. “… Through panhandling, they buy the next bottle of cheap booze, the smallest bottles and the cheapest ones.”
Representatives of retailers and alcohol distributors voiced their opposition to the ban at Tuesday’s meeting. Most of the speakers against the ordinance said the ban did not specifically address the problem of public intoxication and alcohol abuse but rather punishes law-abiding citizens interested in buying the alcohol products.
“This is a broad resolution to a minor problem,” said Bill White of the Wisconsin Grocer’s Association. “Thousands and thousands of people enjoy these products in small containers.”
White added he wants more time for the alcohol industry to be brought into the discussion to come to alternative solutions. One of these solutions would be incorporating retailers not selling to known alcohol abusers on a voluntary basis.
Casey Trudgeon, executive vice president and general manager of Wisconsin Distributors, echoed White’s opposition, saying the ordinance was not attacking the problem of alcohol abuse directly.
“Why are we attacking the product or the package and not the person that has the problem?” Trudgeon said.
After public discussion, Schumacher motioned for the vote to be referred because he wanted to give members of the alcohol industry a chance to come to the discussion table on the topic. The council voted in favor, pushing the vote back to the June 2 City Council meeting.
Ald. Mark Clear, District 19, commended Schumacher on referring the vote to another meeting.
“It’s a great show of leadership on Schumacher’s part, because I believe he thinks he has enough votes to go forward with this but is showing a willingness to work with the community and industry leaders on this,” Clear said.
