Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverage Licensing Blog

Thousands of people are killed or injured every year by drivers who have not reached the legal standard for being drunk but who have a reduced ability to see, make decisions or operate a vehicle, the National Transportation Safety Board said on Tuesday, and it recommended that the states reduce the allowable blood-alcohol concentration by more than a third, to 0.05 percent from 0.08 percent.
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The New York Times reports that the current standard was established a decade ago at the instigation of Congress, and progress has stalled, the board said, with about 10,000 fatalities a year.

"There are at least 10,000 reasons to tackle this issue," said Deborah A. P. Hersman, the chairwoman of the board. Foreign countries with stricter standards have had substantially more success, according to the board.

The board voted for a variety of recommendations. Some, like requiring that everyone convicted of drunken driving be required to install a Breathalyzer interlock in their car, which would prevent the vehicle from starting without an alcohol test, were focused on heavy drinkers and repeat offenders.

Officials said they hoped that a stricter standard would reduce drinking and driving both among social drinkers and among heavy drinkers.

Blood-alcohol concentration varies by body weight, gender, stomach contents and other factors, but generally speaking, a 180-pound man could consume four beers or glasses of wine in 90 minutes without reaching the current limit. At a limit of 0.05 percent, he could legally consume only three. A 130-pound woman could probably consume three drinks in 90 minutes and be legal under the existing standard; if the limit were lowered, she could consume only two.

The blood-alcohol recommendation faces opposition. Sarah Longwell, the managing director at the American Beverage Institute, a restaurant trade association, called the idea "ludicrous."

"Moving from 0.08 to 0.05 would criminalize perfectly responsible behavior," she said. And "further restriction of moderate consumption of alcohol by responsible adults prior to driving does nothing to stop hard-core drunk drivers from getting behind the wheel."

The board is already on record favoring research on built-in alcohol detectors, which could measure blood-alcohol content through a driver's palms on the steering wheel or some other unobtrusive way. Those could be available as an option on new cars or could be universally required. Either would affect drinkers who have never been caught driving, who make up more than 90 percent of those involved in fatal alcohol-related crashes.

People with a blood-alcohol level of 0.05 percent are 38 percent more likely to be involved in a crash than those who have not been drinking, according to government statistics. People with a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 percent are 169 percent more likely.

The standard in most of the industrialized world is 0.05 percent. All 50 states and the District of Columbia switched to 0.08 percent after President Bill Clinton signed a law in 2000 that withheld highway construction money from states that did not agree to that standard.

When East Dedham Liquors re-opens for business after a three-month suspension of its alcohol license, it will do so under new management, as reported by boston.com

In a split vote, Dedham selectmen have approved a change of manager for the store, which has been found guilty of five violations over a period of 16 months.

East Dedham Liquors owner Robert Renzi, the previous manager of record of the liquor license, came before selectmen without representation, but with his new manager, Michael Francis, by his side.

"Given the troubles I've had, I believe that the store needs someone who is more hands-on than I," Renzi told selectmen at a meeting earlier in April.

Francis said he had a background in retail and management, and he lives in Readville. He was also employed by a bar for 18 months, he said.

"For the issues we've had in the past, various stings and IDs not being checked, I sat down with Mr. Renzi and went over the point-of-sale system, new ID procedures, and new training procedures that are going to be instituted," Francis said at the meeting. "A lot of things should change with the change of management."

All selectmen approved the change except for James MacDonald, who always abstains for alcohol-related votes and hearings due to his affiliation with the Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission, and Selectmen chairman Carmen Dello Iacono, who voted "no."

"I was unhappy when I saw your application, and the only reason I voted to have the suspension is because you said you were going to sell the license and then you didn't," Dello Iacono said.

East Dedham Liquors' license was suspended at a January hearing. Selectmen found that East Dedham Liquors had sold to a minor during a sting operation in November.

Before that, selectmen held three hearings in August and October 2011 to deal with three previous violations, and the Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission conducted a hearing.

I commend City Councilor Ayanna Pressley, who has called for a hearing on how to stop the exodus of liquor licenses from the city's outer neighborhoods to downtown Boston and the waterfront area.

Pressley will speak with her fellow councilors about her bid to change the current quota/cap system set by the state legislature on liquor licenses in Boston, which she calls an outdated relic of "Prohibition frenzy about alcohol and a power struggle between Yankee legislators and Irish-dominated local governments."

In an "order" explaining her issue, Pressley wrote:

"The cap on the number of available liquor licenses in Boston drives up the price of licenses and the cost of doing business; and the unnecessarily high cost of doing business makes it difficult for entrepreneurs - particularly small/local-, minority-, and women-owned business enterprises - to bring innovation to the cultural, arts, and culinary arenas. And it unduly burdens entrepreneurs who wish to open small neighborhood establishments, who in some estimates rely on alcohol sales for up to a quarter of their revenue. And in certain communities in Boston, particularly in communities of color, the high cost of liquor licenses also makes it more difficult to develop the range of neighborhood entertainment and dining offerings necessary to attract and retain young professionals and families."

For example, in the past two years, Blue Hill Avenue in Mattapan and Roxbury lost many of its bars when owners sold their licenses for several hundred thousand dollars to larger companies in the Back Bay and the South Boston waterfront.

Increasing the number of licenses available or abolishing the quote/cap completely would make it easier for smaller, mom-and-pop types of businesses to obtain a liquor license, and could help revitalize parts of the city that have fallen on hard times. It would grant more discretion to the local licensing boards (for example, in Boston) to decide whether or not a particular neighborhood and community would benefit from an additional restaurant/bar/liquor store. The Board would simply look at the applicant's qualifications and the proposed location and vote yes/no. New York employs this system and it generally works well.

Kudos to Ms. Pressley for raising this issue and trying to get folks to take a new look at a situation that is ripe for change.

The Pittsfield Licensing Board is poised to suspend a city bar's liquor license for two weeks for allowing dozens of underage people to get in one night last summer using false identification.

On Monday, the board is expected to vote on when the Back Nine Bar and Grill on Crane Avenue will serve the suspension that was issued five months ago, but was delayed while the business appealed to the Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission.

However, the Back Nine's attorney, Thomas Hamel, said on Thursday the bar's owner has dropped his appeal. The ABCC was scheduled to hold a hearing on it in March.

"In light of the current economic times and a lack of business, [Back Nine] wants to move on," he said, as quoted by the Berkshire Eagle.

Hamel said he plans to suggest the 14 days of suspension be spread out over 52 weeks.

The Licensing Board has the final say, according to vice chairman Robert Quattrochi.

The Licensing Board meted out the suspension after police seized 41 fake driver's licenses from nearly 70 young adults who were bused to the bar for a reunion of camp counselors.

According to city police, several officers arrived at the Back Nine just before 11 p.m. on July 21 during a citywide sweep that night to crack down on crime and improve relations with residents. Police immediately found several young men and women trying to leave the premises, one male with two bottles of beer in his hand.

In all, police said more than 30 young adults were inside and another 40 were outside the bar or arriving off a bus from a local motel.

The former counselors at Camp Greylock in Becket were in the Berkshires for a reunion, organized solely by camp alumni through social media, according to investigating officers.

During the show-cause hearing, Back Nine manager Brian Uliasz said everyone was carded, but without electronic scanners, it's difficult to spot phony IDs.

Once police rounded up the young adults, police asked them to fork over their fake IDs and they were bused back to their motel.

Lt. Michael Grady noted that no arrests were made and no charges were filed against the mostly underage drinkers.

Uliasz had said the partiers had already been drinking when they arrived, a claim partially supported by police, who say those who had just arrived on the bus threw beer cans and cups out the vehicle's windows.

The Needham Times reports that Blanchard's is one of several businesses that have sent in an application for alcohol licenses in Needham.

The other businesses that have turned in applications are Craft Liquors of Needham, Needham Wine & Spirits, Needham Center Wine & Spirits and Volante Farms. Owners of the Belmont-based beer store Craft Beer Cellar and Newton and Brookline-based wine store vinodivino have also indicated their desire to expand to Needham.

The town is allowed to issue up to six licenses. Selectmen may only issue three for the time being.

The Board of Selectmen will hold a public hearing with all applicants on Feb. 2.

The Lowell Sun reports on some aggressive policing by the Dracut authorities concerning the business "Crackers."

A hearing on the Tilted Kilt Pub & Eatery's application for a liquor license in Quincy has been postponed and will be rescheduled at a later date, Quincy officials said, as reported by boston.com

The hearing at the Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission had been scheduled for Wednesday, after the Tilted Kilt's lawyers appealed a Quincy Licensing Board decision last summer that denied the liquor license.

The restaurant is challenging ABCC rules that give special standing to schools and religious institutions, but Quincy officials say they are confident of prevailing when the commission eventually decides.

Issues have been ongoing since July, when the licensing board unanimously approved a liquor license for the Scottish-themed sports pub, which features waitresses in short plaid skirts and bras.

Shortly thereafter, however, the applicant realized that it has not notified St. John the Baptist Parish, which is located 450 feet from the proposed establishment on the Parkingway.

According to ABCC rules, churches and schools within 500 feet need to be notified of any establishment planning to sell alcohol. The church was subsequently notified and the matter sent back to the Licensing Board for a fresh start.

Boston.com reports that although the first review of the project raised no red flags, church supporters came out in force during the second Aug. 28 hearing, protesting the attire of the wait staff and saying that it had a detrimental effect on the spiritual and ethical mission of the church.

The lengthy meeting ended in the church's favor, with three out of the five licensing board members turning down a liquor license for the proposed bar.

An appeal was issued in September.

According to City Clerk Joe Shea, who chairs Quincy's licensing board, the lawyers for Tilted Kilt moved to have a direct verdict on the hearing, which would have prohibited the city from presenting its side of the case.

"[The Tilted Kilt lawyers] were saying it had no merit, and the ABCC said it certainly does have merit, so we will have to play it out," Shea said.

The commission subsequently postponed the hearing date. A new date has not been set, and Shea said it probably won't happen before the end of the year.

Shea said he wasn't overly concerned about the appeal, especially with the commission's recent decision.

"In the rules and regulations, they must respond to churches and synagogues within 500 feet. Why not have that law if they have no standing?" Shea said.

Additionally, history is on the city's side, he said.

The commission has remanded only a handful of licensing board appeals back to the city, Shea said. Even fewer appeals have been overturned by the commission.

If the city's decision is not upheld, however, it could set a precedent for the future, which would change the standing a religious or educational facility might have on liquor licensing approval, Shea said.

"Either we're right or wrong," Shea told boston.com. "If we're right, they are going to have to abandon that site and go to another one... [Tilted Kilt] said it's an old archaic law and it doesn't mean anything. Maybe they are right, but let's have the ABCC tell me."

State Treasurer Steven Grossman and the Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission (ABCC), in conjunction with the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration's (NHTSA) national Impaired Driving Crackdown, will focus enforcement efforts at bars throughout the commonwealth during the 2012 holiday season.

The operation started the night before Thanksgiving, and will continue through New Year's Eve.

"This type of enforcement effort can save lives and prevent tragedies before they happen," said Grossman. "Operation Safe Holidays takes immediate and effective steps that result in the direct prevention of drunk driving and serving of intoxicated individuals during the busy holiday season.

"These programs create safer roads and highways throughout the commonwealth by discouraging drunk driving and by establishing a long-term deterrence for bar and restaurant owners to over-serve patrons," said ABCC Chairwoman Kim Gainsboro.

Impaired driving is a significant cause of injuries and fatalities in the United States and is estimated to cost $37 billion annually. In 2010 more than 10,000 people died in alcohol-impaired driving crashes - one person every 51 minutes.

Sale to Intoxicated Persons (SIP) enforcement by the ABCC is considered an effective tool to stop it at the source. Well over 50% of impaired driving arrests originate at Massachusetts bars.

To date in 2012, the ABCC has conducted enforcement operations in approximately 200 municipalities throughout the commonwealth and has responded to 500 complaints relative to underage drinking and the sale of alcohol to intoxicated individuals. Approximately 250 bars and liquor stores have been charged with violations under the Liquor Control Act.

Kudos to State Senator James Eldridge for introducing legislation designed to radically alter the manner in which liquor licenses are issued by the state, essentially doing away with the quota/cap system and replacing it with a system under which the local municipality would decide how many licenses to issue.

I'll be writing about this issue more in the coming weeks, but suffice it to say that Mr. Eldridge's idea is a welcome breath of fresh air into an area where growth has been stifled, where small business owners are at a competitive disadvantage, and where corruption and backroom deals have blossomed.

Northborough, Mass considers a BYOB policy, as the number of alcohol licenses available in the town dwindle.

Eight restaurant all-alcohol licenses have been added to Braintree's arsenal for the purpose of boosting small business development.

Earlier this month, Gov. Deval Patrick signed a home rule petition submitted by Mayor Joseph Sullivan to fight the high demand and corresponding high price of liquor licenses in Braintree.

"These new licenses will allow us to place smaller restaurant venues throughout Town, particularly in our three Square areas," Sullivan said in a statement. "We envisioned the Landing improvements to be a stimulus for economic activity and these licenses will help us in that effort."

Sullivan's legislation originally allotted six licenses - two for each area targeted for development. Legislators changed the bill significantly prior to passage, imposing a 75-seat limit for the licenses rather than the geographic targeting and also made the request eight instead of six.

Bill sponsors Rep. Mark Cusack, D-Braintree, and Sen. John F. Keenan, D-Quincy, and other officials told patch.com that the changes will still allow for the same purpose, though some business owners questioned the wisdom of adding more licenses and diluting the value of existing ones.

"These new liquor licenses will be granted through the town at a far lower rate than buying a license on the open market," Cusack said in a statement. "This will help attract new small businesses to our Squares and the Landing."

A municipality's total number of alcohol licenses is determined in Massachusetts by its population, as recorded every 10 years by the U.S Census, unless the legislature approves more.

Last summer, Braintree officials learned that the town had gained six alcohol licenses because it grew in population by nearly 2,000 residents, to 35,744, from 2000 to 2010. As of last month, there were no all-alcohol restaurant licenses available and only two wine & malt (beer) licenses available.

Peabody liquor licensing authorities sent Frank Martino away empty-handed Monday night, questioning his sincerity to operate a package store in the city, as reported by patch.com.

The main reason for the Licensing Board's reluctance to grant Martino a license was because he just sold his full liquor license for a tidy profit less than a year after receiving it from the city (at a fraction of the cost), and was now asking for a new license to replace that one.

That did not sit well with board members; in fact, it was yet another unique factor to the situation --Martino sold his license for $205,000 to Trader Joe's.

Needham mulls alcohol sales regulations, assuming certain ballot questions pass on Election Day, as reported by patch.com. Having alcohol available for sale in Needham would be a great thing for the town and its citizens.

The Needham Times reports that the alcohol question that asks if Needham should be able to grant permits for liquor stores won't be appearing in this year's main election ballot. But town officials still want to get the vote out by calling for a special town election on Nov. 6 (election day).

At a Sept. 18 meeting, the Board of Selectmen called for another ballot to be included during the Nov. 6 election that would allow the historically dry Needham to issue licenses to up to six liquor stores if a majority of the vote passes. Since it is a special town election, the town would have to foot the additional costs of staffing and implementing a separate ballot.

The state recently rejected a motion made by this spring's Town Meeting to put the alcohol question on this year's presidential election ballot.

The Somerville Journal and wicked local report that the City of Somerville will obtain 10 additional liquor licenses, but control over where those licenses will be granted will remain with the state. The City seems pleased with the new licenses, but would have preferred to exercise full control over them.