{"id":2214766,"date":"2024-04-07T06:54:02","date_gmt":"2024-04-07T10:54:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-tavern-league-the-lobbying-firm-that-drove-wisconsinites-to-bars\/"},"modified":"2024-04-07T07:03:01","modified_gmt":"2024-04-07T11:03:01","slug":"the-tavern-league-the-lobbying-firm-that-drove-wisconsinites-to-bars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-tavern-league-the-lobbying-firm-that-drove-wisconsinites-to-bars\/","title":{"rendered":"The Tavern League: Advocates that encouraged Wisconsinites to frequent bars"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fthe-tavern-league-the-lobbying-firm-that-drove-wisconsinites-to-bars%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2214766&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The\u200c Tavern League of Wisconsin, known for\u200d lobbying on alcohol-related issues, faces shifting\u200d political dynamics regarding alcohol laws despite its long-standing influence. Recent legislative changes in Wisconsin highlight a move towards stricter alcohol regulations, impacting various\u200b stakeholders in\u200b the hospitality industry. Additionally, the state&#8217;s approach to OWI penalties has drawn attention\u200b for being relatively lenient compared to other states.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>In a state known for its beer and booze, Wisconsin is home to some of the lightest operating while impaired (OWI) penalties, mandated liquor store hours, and a <a href=\"https:\/\/bringmethenews.com\/minnesota-news\/top-50-drunkest-counties-list-includes-1-in-minnesota-41-in-wisconsin\">majority<\/a> of America\u2019s \u201cdrunkest counties.\u201d A person younger than 21 can even legally have an alcoholic beverage in Wisconsin with their parents at a bar or restaurant.<\/p>\n<p>The Wisconsin Tavern League has lobbied on behalf of restaurants and bars throughout the state for decades. Now, their power may be diminishing as party politics begin to shape the narrative surrounding alcohol in the state. <\/p>\n<h2>The Tavern League\u2019s power, or lack thereof<\/h2>\n<p>Since 1935, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tlw.org\/mission\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Tavern League of Wisconsin<\/a> has lobbied on behalf of the \u201cneeds of the retail beverage alcohol segment of the hospitality industry in the State of Wisconsin.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Wisconsin Tavern League has long been associated with drinking nuances across the state. Alcohol sales at liquor stores are banned past 9 p.m. in the majority of the state. The Tavern League said they are not interested in competing with liquor stores. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe laws are in place so there\u2019s some uniformity from one city to another,\u201d Tavern League spokesperson Scott Stenger <a href=\"https:\/\/onmilwaukee.com\/articles\/liquorstores\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>said<\/a>. \u201cI\u2019ve never heard of a community saying they want to stay open later. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s a problem, [since] most people plan ahead.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>In 2023, a new <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.legis.wisconsin.gov\/2023\/related\/proposals\/ab304\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>law<\/a> in Wisconsin created a new alcohol regulation body, the Division of Alcohol Beverages, attached to the state\u2019s Department of Revenue. The legislation changes alcohol enforcement from being at the point of sale, to the point of consumption. <\/p>\n<p>This notably affects \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/wedding-barns-voting-baby-boxes-e326d55d6144950c30a63001b8c0a36f\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>wedding barns<\/a>\u201d in the state, where couples provide their own alcohol at weddings instead of hiring bars or holding them there. Wisconsin breweries, large retailers, and the Tavern League were in favor of the change.<\/p>\n<p>The bipartisan law requires these \u201cspecial venues\u201d to get an alcohol license or a permit to serve alcohol. Gov. Tony Evers (D-WI) said the legislation was a \u201cpriority for the safety of consumers, producers, and Wisconsin as a whole.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis bill is not going to put anyone out of business,\u201d Republican state Rep. Michael Schraa <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wbay.com\/2023\/12\/06\/wisconsin-bill-regulate-wedding-barns-overhaul-state-liquor-laws-wins-bipartisan-support\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>said<\/a>. \u201cThey just have to change their business model a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.jsonline.com\/story\/news\/politics\/2024\/02\/29\/mark-jefferson-outgoing-head-of-wisconsin-gop-to-lead-tavern-league\/72779545007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Mark Jefferson<\/a>, who formerly served as executive director of the Republican Party of Wisconsin, was recently hired to lead the Tavern League as their executive director.<\/p>\n<p>The Tavern League has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wisdc.org\/follow-the-money\/46-influence-peddler\/5944-influence-peddler-of-the-month-tavern-league-of-wisconsin\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>previously opposed<\/a> legislation to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.milwaukeemag.com\/wisconsins-tavern-league-works-for-their-members-not-public-health\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>ban smoking inside<\/a> bars and restaurants. They fought against bringing the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fact-check-has-the-legal-drinking-age-in-south-carolina-been-lowered-to-18-years-old\/\" title=\"FACT CHECK: Has The Legal Drinking Age In South Carolina Been Lowered To 18 Years Old?\">legal drinking age<\/a> up to 21 and prohibited local governments in the state from requiring bar owners to use drivers license or state identification card scanners. They\u2019ve also supported legislation to place the blame on the servers, not bar owners, when bars are caught serving underage people.<\/p>\n<p>The Tavern League has, however, switched gears on DUI legislation, opting to support stricter rules and regulations.<\/p>\n<p>The Tavern League currently offers the \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tlw.org\/saferide\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>SafeRide<\/a>\u201d program across the state which \u201cprovided 42,347 free rides home from 2,006 TLW-member establishments.\u201d They credit the SafeRide program with the 44% decline in OWI convictions in the state since 2007. <\/p>\n<h2>Light OWI penalties due to politics, not the Tavern League<\/h2>\n<p>According to Frank Harris, chief lobbyist for Mothers Against Drunk Driving, the tides have shifted in Wisconsin, from the Tavern League opposing drunk driving legislation to now being in favor of it. Fighting within the state\u2019s legislature as well as the Badger state\u2019s drinking culture may be to blame.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cParty politics is a bigger factor in the demise of OWI reform than the Tavern League at this point,\u201d Harris said. <\/p>\n<p>Wisconsin has relatively light OWI penalties compared to other states. Jail time is not required for first-time <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/advisor\/legal\/dui\/dui-laws\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>offenders<\/a> and the minimum fine is $150. <\/p>\n<p>Earlier this year, state Sen. Chris Larson introduced legislation that would have required an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wpr.org\/news\/wisconsin-bill-would-require-ignition-interlock-device-for-all-drunken-drivers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nancy-pelosis-husband-finally-charged-with-dui\/\" title=\"Nancy Pelosi\u2019s Husband Finally Charged With DUI\">ignition interlock device<\/a><\/a> to be installed in people with drunk driving offenses\u2019 vehicles. <\/p>\n<p>State law requires the interlock device for those with two or more offenses or a first time offender with a blood alcohol content of .15, double the legal limit. Currently, 31 states and the District of Columbia require such a device. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cSenator Larson has been the most consistent anti-drunk driving voice in the WI legislature for the past decade-plus. He strongly prefers solutions like mandatory ignition interlock devices for all OWI offenses to mere penalty enhancers, which haven\u2019t really worked for other crimes, but which continue to be proposed [mostly by Republicans] for a host of issues,\u201d Justin Bielinski, a spokesman for Larson, told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. <\/p>\n<p>State Sen. <a href=\"https:\/\/legis.wisconsin.gov\/senate\/01\/jacque\/newsletter-list\/state-senator-proposes-ignition-interlock-bill-to-curb-drunk-driving\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Andre Jacque<\/a> also proposed a similar interlock bill, but party politics may be keeping OWI penalties the way they are, not the Tavern League. <\/p>\n<p>Harris recalled walking through the Wisconsin State Capitol last fall to testify on another DUI bill when he was told the interlock legislation would need a new sponsor in order for it to pass. He said he ran into an assemblyman who signed onto the Assembly version of the interlock bill and was told he would need to find someone, besides state Sen. Jacque, to sponsor the bill in order for it to have a chance at passing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe [the assemblyman] said you need to find a different Senate sponsor. \u2018You know, the speaker doesn\u2019t like Senator Jacque.\u2019 Okay. Well, I kind of knew that but Senator Jacque agreed to author this,\u201d Harris said.<\/p>\n<p>Evers had a provision in the state\u2019s budget this session to mandate interlocks. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cSenate and Assembly took it out of the budget, you know, not necessarily based off a policy difference more so based off of the fact they didn\u2019t want to give the governor a policy,\u201d Harris said.<\/p>\n<p>Larson\u2019s spokesman also said that the state\u2019s drinking culture is also what stops legislators from moving forward with stricter laws. Wisconsin consistently has many counties that make the top 10 \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wmtv15news.com\/2021\/10\/18\/top-11-drunkest-counties-us-are-all-wisconsin-survey-finds\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>drunkest<\/a>\u201d counties in the US.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title><strong>CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe more powerful influence in keeping Wisconsin\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-overton-window-the-most-misunderstood-concept-in-politics\/\" title=\"The Overton Window: The Most Misunderstood Concept In Politics\">drunk driving laws<\/a> as loose as they are is not the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/midterm-exam-tidbits-and-more-from-the-campaign-trail-part-one\/\" title=\"MIDTERM EXAM: Tidbits And More From The Campaign Trail (Part One)\">tavern league<\/a> \u2014 it\u2019s the pervasive drinking culture that exists statewide,\u201d Bielinski said. \u201cLegislators may be hesitant to subject those in their social networks to prosecution for something so many people do.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>The Wisconsin Tavern League did not respond to the <em>Washington Examiner <\/em>for comment.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Wisconsin, famed for beer and lenient alcohol laws, has light OWI penalties and lax liquor store hours. It hosts many of the country&#8217;s &#8220;drunkest counties.&#8221; Surprisingly, those under 21 can drink with parents in bars legally<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2910,"featured_media":2214767,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/new-glarus-1024x610.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2214766","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/new-glarus-1024x610.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2214766","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2910"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2214766"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2214766\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2214767"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2214766"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2214766"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2214766"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}