Fitzgerald Pushing Major Rewrite Of Wisconsin Liquor Enforcement Laws

One of the state Legislature’s top Republicans is making an end-of-session push for a major rewrite of Wisconsin’s liquor laws.

The plan by Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, is similar to one that surfaced but ultimately went nowhere during budget negotiations last year.

Fitzgerald’s proposal, which was first reported by the conservative MacIver Institute, would create a new Office of Alcohol Beverages Enforcement in Wisconsin.

Fitzgerald told reporters at the capitol Tuesday that it would take on some of the duties of the state Department of Revenue, which he contends is no longer enforcing Wisconsin’s liquor laws the way it should.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re a brewery or if you’re a tavern or you’re a retailer, everyone agrees the enforcement has just fallen apart,” Fitzgerald said.

Brewers and distillers were among a coalition that successfully fought the proposed changes last year.

The effort was also opposed by conservative groups like Americans for Prosperity-Wisconsin, which said Fitzgerald was effectively calling for a “liquor czar” in Wisconsin.

“We believe that an unanswerable bureaucratic post with powers this vast is ripe for regulatory capture and harmful to the accountability and transparency of our democratic institutions,” said AFP-Wisconsin Director Eric Bott.

It was unclear whether Fitzgerald’s plan would gather enough support before the Legislature adjourns in March.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, said early Tuesday afternoon he hadn’t been involved in writing the plan, and he hadn’t read it.