Jennings, Martinez, Moody 1

Issue Exploration Project

Exploration on Liquor Laws in Utah

Scott Jennings, Cynthia Martinez, Ashley Moody

Introduction to Writing 1010
Mandy Anger
April 28, 2016

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Utah has so much to offer visitors and attracts them from all over the world. It has a
strong economy sought after by businesses. Forbes Magazine ranks it in their top ten list for
business. It has great colleges to attend. Some of these colleges are even nationally ranked for
academics. Utah is home to 5 national parks. There are also a handful of ski resorts that brag
about Utah having the greatest snow on earth. There is a reason the 2002 Winter Olympics were
held in Utah. The Sundance film festival also calls Utah home. Utah is also known for something
else though, its unusual liquor laws. Currently Utah is one out of eighteen control states in
America. This means that all liquor transactions in the state of Utah are controlled by the state.
This differs from the remaining thirty-two states whose liquor sales are controlled entirely by
private sellers. Utahs Department of Alcohol Beverage Control dictates Utahs liquor cost,
production, import, distribution, advertisement and even all the way into hours of consumption.
According to the D.A.B.C. the purpose of control is to make liquor available to those adults
who choose to drink responsibly but not to promote the sale of liquor (D.A.B.C). This
mentality gives Utah stricter licensing procedures, harsher punishments, selling procedures and
even creates a different economic impact. There are many pros and cons to this but for most
visitors it is hard to imagine all of the pros when alcohol is controlled so strictly. Isnt it time to
loosen these strict and unusual laws? They directly Impact our economy and visitors coming to
our state.
To have a better understanding of why these laws came to be, we need to go over Utah's
history with alcohol. Utah has had a very controversial history with trying to control alcohol. The
controversy mainly comes between Mormons and Non-Mormons. Utah has a large majority of
the population belonging to the Mormon faith, also known as the L.D.S. church. The Salt Lake
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Tribune and Matt Canham published public records declaring that 62% of the population belongs
to the L.D.S. church (Canham). According to Harrison of the Huffington Post, the Utah state
legislature is even higher with 80% belonging to the L.D.S. church (Harrison). This is a very
important factor to take into consideration due to the fact that Mormons believe you should not
consume alcohol.
According to Reeve from the Utah History Blazer Utah had a rocky start with trying to
declare local prohibition and liquor laws. By 1855 many other states had adopted some sort of
law at the local level prohibiting the consumption and manufacturing of alcohol. L.D.S. leaders
were taking stances on both sides of the debate. The President of the church at this time, Joseph
F. Smith, was concerned that pressure from the church would cause uprising between nonmembers accusing the church of interfering in politics. Regardless of Smiths thoughts other
church leaders campaigned for prohibition anyway. Only one church leader, who also happened
to be a Utah senator and head of the Utah Republican Party, Reed Smoot, campaigned against
prohibition. Numerous bills were sent to state legislature to try and create state prohibition but
were narrowly shot down time and time again. Prohibition supporters did however find success
on making certain cities and countys dry. Many church leaders were frustrated that it was taking
so long to enact liquor laws and were frustrated that surrounding states had already enacted some
form of prohibition. Finally in 1919 Along with the rest of the nation, Utah ratified the 18th
amendment into the constitution, which prohibited the production, distribution and selling of
alcohol.
Utah, among many other states, had struggles in enforcing prohibition, this lead to major
spikes in crime. According to Reeve from 'The History Blazer' "Utah didnt have the gangs or
crime lords like Illinois had seen during prohibition but they, however, have its fair share of
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bootleggers and arrests. "Overall, from 1925 to 1932 federal agents in Utah seized over 400
distilleries, 25,000 gallons of spirit, 8,000 gallons of malt liquor, 13,00 gallons of wine, and
332,000 gallons of mash" ( Reeve ).
Prohibition was unsuccessful and despite the L.D.S Churchs influence Utah voted to
repeal prohibition. Utah was ironically the final state to ratify the 21st amendment to the
constitution which ended prohibition nationwide. This even made headlines about Utah in
Europe where it was stated "Prohibition Is Dead! Mormons Killed It! Whoopee! Happy Days Are
Here Again!" (London Evening News).
One downfall to being a control state with harsh laws is the licensing. In order for
consumers to access liquor there must be license holders. Alcohol is classified as either one of
two things: Liquor and Beer. Liquor consists of distilled spirits, wine, flavored malt beverages
and strong or heavy beer. Beer only includes traditionally brewed beers. (D.A.B.C.) Licenses are
based on these definitions. There are a total of twenty-one applicable licenses, nine of which are
most common. The common licenses include Airport Lounge, Banquet catering, On Premise
Beer, Private Club, Public Service Permit, Restaurant (Beer only), Restaurant (Full Service),
Restaurant (Limited Service) and Tavern.
Each license holds different permissions that allow that business to conduct different
forms of transactions. Each license has its own application, restrictions, sellable hours, costs and
even quantity per population. Thats right, Utah restricts the amount of licenses permitted based
on the population in the immediate area.
An example of one license is a Private Club license. This license is only permitted for
equity clubs, fraternal clubs, dining and social clubs and is distributed one per 7,850 people in

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the entire state and can only sell alcoholic product between 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. The overall
cost for this particular license is $3,050. There is a quantity per population restriction set on
every license and each is unique. Costs to obtain a license ranges anywhere from $120 to
$10,330 and each have time restrictions on when the product can be sold. Even with these
restrictions there are 1,840 alcohol licensees within Utahs borders and nineteen more granted in
March of 2016. This number may seem high; however it is quite the opposite when compared to
its southern neighbor, Arizona, who has 12,030 liquor license holders. (D.A.B.C)
In order to sell alcohol in Utah there is a rather lengthy process to follow; this process
includes obtaining a license from both the State and local governments. There are five steps that
each applicant must follow.
1. First the business must contact the Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control,
also known as the DABC.
2. Then an application must be filled out for the county license. Depending on which
county the applicants business will reside effects the complexity of the process. For
example if the business is located within a municipal jurisdiction such as Salt Lake City,
that local government must be contacted separately to obtain a license.
Once these steps have been completed the applicant must complete step number three:
3. Get zoning approval, this is a separate process completely and could take anywhere
between six to eight weeks.
As with many government necessities comes the fee, once steps one through three have
been granted the applier can move onto step number four.

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4. The applicant must then pay the government their fee, which includes both an
application fee and an initial cost.
5. Finally each license requester must complete a background check through the Sheriffs
office. This will include fingerprints and additional paperwork done, in person, at the
Sheriffs office.
Five steps may not seem like much but these licenses are heavily coveted and may be
hard to come by. For example the Club License typically only allows one applicant per month,
sometimes zero and can take a year or more for a business to obtain it. In 2014 Utah legislature
passed a new law stating current liquor license holders may sell their license to a qualified buyer.
This opened new opportunities and possibly a higher turn around rate. It also gave new
applicants a chance to shorten the waiting period immensely. One gentleman told the Salt Lake
Tribune that he would pay up to $30,000 for an existing Club license (Salt Lake Tribune).
According to The Garage on Beck, a full service bar in Salt Lake, once you have received
a license the renewal process is quite hassle free. It can simply be done online at
https://secure.utah.gov/alr/index.html. Each license holder receives a renewal packet that
contains their license number, renewal ID number and instructions for execution. These
instructions include renewal due dates that differ by license. If there are any submission
problems the compliance can be contacted directly or visited in person to turn in the renewal
application.
How do these laws and politics actually effect Utah's economy? A poll from
UtahPolicy.com that surveyed 402 registered voters in Utah found that.

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69 percent of respondents say the alcohol laws hurt economic development and tourism,
while 15 percent say they help in those areas. Another 15 percent had no opinion (KSL).
But are Utahns correct? Forbes.com states quite the contrary when it comes to strictly
business, Utah is listed as the number one state for Best States for Business and Careers
(Forbes). In fact the top three states on the list are Utah, Virginia and North Carolina with Iowa
in 10th and Wyoming in 14th. What do these states have in common? All of them are control
states. As listed at the beginning of this essay a control state is when all liquor transactions are
controlled by the state government as opposed to the private seller.
This does not necessarily mean that having the state dictate all alcohol sales is the true
reason for economic grown. In fact Maine is listed as the worst state for business, along with
Michigan and Mississippi following suit as number 46 ad 47, all three are control states. It
appears that alcohol laws do not actually hurt or hinder Utahs economic growth at all.
Dr. Evan Unger, chief executive of a Tucson, Ariz., biotechnology company, would like
to move his business to Utah, which he considers "one of the most business-friendly states in the
country." He likes Salt Lake City's airport, its highways and his condominium at Snowbird
resort, where he could get in more skiing. He is a Republican, so Utah's conservatism doesn't
bother him. But his 19 employees? "They wouldn't come," sighs Unger. Many of his employees
are foreigners they see Utah as repressive and intolerant (Unger).
Some employers and politicians -- mostly Democrats -- are warning that Utah's Mormon
conservatism is driving away business. They say Utah's hard-line stands on such topics as gay
rights, abortion and alcohol have given the state a reputation as an uptight, reactionary place
where diversity isn't welcome. Democratic state Sen. Ron Allen says executives of two

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companies backed away from plans to move some operations to Utah because of the
Legislature's right-wing politics. He won't identify the companies but says they would have
brought 2,000 jobs (Allen).
Now that weve gone over economy, how do these laws effect tourism? Representative
Jack Draxler, from North Logan, Utah, is a mayor and now a legislator and has stated that he has
had no experience with someone hesitant to come to Utah because of the alcohol
laws(Draxler). 50 percent of Utahns believe it's very easy or somewhat easy to buy liquor or
get a drink in the state. Another 38 percent say it's very difficult or somewhat difficult, while 12
percent had no opinion (Draxler).
Our argument is that these unusual laws do affect tourism. What are these laws and how
do they actually effect visitors? Utah liquor laws have become such a big issue especially to
people who are coming to visit from out of state. They even give people the thought they are
getting something less than they are paying for. The 3.2 alcohol law requires beers with a higher
content to be sold only in liquor stores. This is something not needed because we measure our
beer differently. Utah measures the percentage of alcohol by weight rather than by volume. If we
were to measure it the same way they do in other states, Utahs beer is four percent alcohol by
volume. The national average of beer percentage in other states is about 4.5 percent less. Utahs
alcohol percentage does not fall much behind the rest of the nation. (Cohen) This is something
that seems to be unnecessary. "You'd have to drink a lot of beer to notice a 1 percent alcohol
difference," said Haas, the brew master at Salt Lake City's Desert Edge Brewery in Trolley
Square (Hass).
What should you expect when you come to Utah and want a Alcoholic drink? When
visiting a restaurant and you must order food first in order to receive a drink. It does not
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necessarily need to be a big meal, it can be as simple as an appetizer, but you do need to buy
food from the restaurant. If a tourist were to come to Utah and order a double they would be
surprised. A standard double include two shots in one drink, or doubling the quantity of alcohol
that is regularly in a beverage. This is not allowed in Utah. Not being able to consume a double
also means that the state will not let you have two drinks in front of you if they are the same type
of drink. Even though you have a drink that is nearly finished, the restaurant will still count it
and will refrain from serving you another one until the first one is complete. These are just a few
restrictions that have limited the publics satisfaction. (Fox News). It is measured that no more
than 1.5 ounces of liquor is poured into a cocktail. Regarding this issue, many have complained
that this has caused a difference in taste and not being able to order a specific drink for example,
if you are just in town for a visit. We dont make them, just because if you cant do the cocktail
properly, then why do it? said Richard Noel, co-owner and manager. Youre just going to get a
bunch of Coke. This is demonstrating that since the laws are so strict in Utah, bartenders are not
able to make specific drinks simply because they do not obey the law (Staub). One resident of
Pennsylvania. Duncan Burrell, a co-worker and manager at a bar in Pennsylvania. Says Utah has
a strict law regarding that doubles cannot be served. So they grab their drink, and then they
chug it, Burrell said. And then, he continues, we give them another one. So then theyre
really drunk. In other words, what he is referring to is that Utah states doubles should not be
served. This could cause them to finish their beer faster which could result in getting them
intoxicated faster, which is unsafe (Burell). "Utah's limits on alcohol put into cocktails make it
difficult to make them of satisfying quality," says Glen Warchol, a journalist who regularly writes
about the state's (D.A.B.C)

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One law unique to Utah is called the Zion Curtain. This law requires minors and
consumers from being able to see bartenders mixing and pouring alcoholic beverages. This is
done by putting bars in separate areas or creating dividers between the guests. It was created in
order to help the customers and minors not be tempted to buy a drink. This seems a little strange
since selling and creating drinks is a type of business. This also puts on the impression that
consuming alcohol is a shameful thing to do. Senator Jim Debakis has been pushing to have the
Zion Curtain removed from the state and says it gives Utah a weird image. Debakis stated "If we
are going to have weird liquor laws, and they save lives or keep youngsters from drinking, it's
fine with me. But weird just to be weird is an unjustifiable labyrinth of craziness that shouldnt
happen" (Sen. Debakis).
Utahisnotalonewolfontheargumentofthehealthbenefitsofhavingmorecontrolled
alcohollaws.Harvard'sSchoolofHealthDeclaresthatthishasbeenanargumentprobablyforas
longasalcoholhasbeenbeingcreated(Harvard).Thefunnythingaboutalcoholisthatitisa
doubleedgedbladewhenitcomestohealth.Everyoneknowsthatalcoholcancauseliver
damageandsomeformsofcancer.Ontheflipsidealcoholcanhelpwithcardiovasculardisease
andhelpwithbloodcirculation.Italsoisproventhatifyouareamoderatedrinkeryouareless
likelytogetdiabetes(Harvard).
IsUtahsgovernmentactuallyconcernedabouttheconsumershealth?Maybetheselaws
areputintoplacetoprotecttheconsumer.Itcanbearguedtheyaremoreconcernedabout
gettingmoremoneyfromtheconsumer.LiquorsalesinUtaharenotopentothefreemarket,
exceptforbeerwithalowerA.B.V.contentyoucanbuyingrocerystores.Allhighpointbeer,
wineandliquorarecontrolledbythegovernmentandsoldthroughgovernmentranstores.This

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seemsalittlebitabsurdifyou'reanoutsiderlookingin.Utahnshavejustbecomeaccustomedto
statecontrolledliquorsales.Howwouldyoufeelifyouhadtodrivetwotownsawaybecauseit
wastheonlyplacetogetadoughnut?Thenthegovernmenttoldyouthatonlytheyknewthe
typeofdoughnutsyoushouldbuy.Thentheydecidedtoraisetaxesonyourdoughnutswhenever
theydeemednecessary.Thisisn'tsomethingnewitiscalledasintaxaccordingtoWebsters
Dictionary.Thisiswhereifthegovernmentthinksthereissomethingyoushouldnotbeeatingor
couldbeharmfultheyraisethetaxesonit.(Websters).
ThestateofUtahlikestopaintabetterpictureofhowtheycanhelpcontrolyourhealth.
Ultimatelyitisandalwayswillbetheconsumerthatcontrolswhattheyputintotheirbody.Itsa
poorsystemforthegovernmenttoforceconsumerstodrinklessalcoholandpunishyoufor
drinkingmore.AgoodsolutionwouldbetoeducateUtahnsonthedangersandhealthbenefitsof
alcoholinstead.UtahcouldhaveaclasssimilartodriversE.D.thateducatestheconsumer.It
couldteachyouwhatamoderateandaresponsibledrinkeriswhenyoubecome21.Thisclass
couldalsoteachyouwhenyou'vereachedyourlimitandshouldn'tbedriving.Thiscouldbe
donethroughourschoolsandthroughgovernmentranprograms
Compared to other states, Utah has a lot of differences when it comes to its alcohol laws.
A lot of people that have visited Utah from other states have complained and have compared
differences between Utah and other states. We need to re write these laws and possibly get rid of
them to encourage tourism.
Everyone has different opinions on their states alcohol laws. Some of which, the public
agrees with while others disagree. Whatever the decision is each state has its different laws. In
Utah however, it has been said that it contains one of the strictest alcohol laws compared to other
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states in the United States. The publics opinions differ in each state. There are people that dont
necessarily see anything wrong with the way Utah handles their alcohol laws.
The Church's concern, however, is not to promote the health code we embrace as
Church members, but to support legislation that advances the safety and well-being of all
state residents, particularly minors, and to avoid the societal costs and harms that often
result from alcohol excess consumption and abuse, underage drinking and DUIs
(Herald).
The majority of the people in Utah that attend the L.D.S. church believe these strict laws
against alcohol help maintain public safety and keep others away from causing harm and
resulting in underage drinking or D.U.I.s. Some think these laws help Utah residents be more
content with the way they drink and help underage youths from drinking. On the other hand, the
majority of Utah residents and visitors from out of town believed that the laws in Utah are not
beneficial.
One of Utah's biggest downfalls is the uptight image it gives the rest of the country with
its liquor laws. These laws impact tourists with different rules to follow. It can differ students
from wanting to attend school here. They also directly impacts businesss desiring to come here
which hurts our economy.
It is not that outrageous to remove some of these laws. The Zion curtain needs to go away
completely. Restaurants should prepare drinks where they need to be prepared. The consumer
shouldnt have to purchase food if they intend to by a drink. Utah should create classes to teach
the consumer rather than punish them. Let brewing companies and bartenders make drinks the
way they were intended to be. Alcohol should be open to a free market and not state run. We

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need to create more access to liquor and give out more liquor licenses. Utahs liquor laws should
follow the rest of the country to follow the norm.
Being a desired place to come is a necessity for Utahs image and economy. What are
these laws really accomplishing if anything? The positives to removing such laws outweighs its
negatives. If unnecessary liquor laws are making tourist and businesses stray away from our state
we need to get rid of them. It's time to let our economy and social scene thrive. Lets keep our
old beliefs in the past and catch up with the rest of the country. Lets make Utah an even more
desired place to come visit and attend school.

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Works Cited
Abc.utah.gov. Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, Web. April 2016.
Beer and Liquor license. Slco.org, Public Works, Planning and Development Services, Salt Lake
County. Web. April 2016.
Canham, Matt. Census: Share of Utahs Mormon residents holds steady. Archive.sltrib.com, The Salt
Lake Tribune, April 17, 2015.
Canham, Matt. The Utah Effect: the alcohol-related stat that will surprise you. www.sltrib.com, Version
2. The Salt Lake Tribune, July 07, 2015. Pages 1-2. Web. April 2016.
Cohen, Jason. "How Salt Lake City's Quirky Liquor Laws Lead to Unique Cocktail Menus." Eater.com 17
Oct. 2015. Web. 07 Apr. 2016.
Cudlipp, Percy. "Headline." London Evening News. Http://www.timesandseasons.org/, Nov. 1933. Web.
April 2016.
Debakis, Jim, Sen. "What's the Status of the Controversial 'Zion Curtain' Law?"
Http://www.good4utah.com/. JASON NGUYEN, 16 Feb. 2016. Web. April 2016.
Gehrke, Robert. Guv saya Utahs alcohol laws so no harm. www.sltrib.com. Version 2, The Salt Lake
Tribune, November 14, 2014. Web. April 2016.
Harrison, Peter. "The LDS Church and Politics.
"Http://www.huffingtonpost.com/. 22 Feb. 2016. Web.
Knox, Annie. Report released on Utah liquor consumption. www.heraldextra.com, The Associated
Press, Feb 8, 2014. Web. April, 2016.
Koehler Deffense. "What Are Utah's Penalties for a First-Offense DUI?" What Are Salt Lake City, Utah's
Penalties for a First-Offense DUI? Criminaldefenselawyers.com. Criminal Defense Lawyers,
2011. Web. 26 Apr. 2016.
Peek, Alison. Economics drives new Utah liquor law. www.examiner.com. Salt Lake City Political Buzz
Examiner, June 21, 2012. Web. April 2016.
Powell, Allen Kent. Utah History Encyclopedia. Salt Lake City: U of Utah, 1994. Print.
Reeve, Paul. "Prohibition Failed to Stop the Liquor Flow in Utah." History Blazer. Utah Historical
Society, Feb. 1995. Text.
Romboy, Dennis. Poll shows Utahns think liquor laws hurt economic development, though most believe
alcohol access not difficult. www.deseretnews.com. Deseret News, November 12, 2014. Web.
April 2016.
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Romboy, Dennis. Poll: Utah liquor laws hurt economic development, tourism. www.ksl.com. Version
v06, KSL Broadcasting Salt Lake City UT, Deseret Digital Media, November 12, 2014. Web.
April, 2016.
Stephenson, Kathy. "Busting Utah's Beer Myths." WWW.SLTRIB.COM. The Salt Lake Tribune, 1 Mar.
2006. Web. 07 Apr. 2016.
Stephenson, Kathy. Coveted Utah alcohol licenses soon can be bought and sold. Archive.sltrib.com, The
Salt Lake Tribune, April 28, 2014. Web. April, 2016.
Stephenson, Kathy. Utahs quirky liquor laws seen as hurting tourism, business. www.sltrib.com,
Version 2. The Salt Lake Tribune, December 24, 2014. Web. April, 2016.
Stim, Rich. "Utah DUI Laws, Penalties & Fines | DrivingLaws.org." Drivinglaws.org. NOLO, 2016. Web.
14 Apr. 2016.
Unger, Evan, and Roy Allen. "Driving Utahs Business Away." Http://cjonline.com/.
22 Apr. 2004. Web. Employers coming to Utah. Senator on Jobs.
University, Harvard. "Harvard: Balancing Risks and
Benefits."Http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/. 3 Mar. 2015. Web
"Utah Liquor Laws Bad for Tourism, Say Local Businesses." Fox News.com. FOX News Network, 13
Nov. 2014. Web. 07 Apr. 2016.

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