Senate economic development bill would restore local control of liquor licenses

The Senate tomorrow is scheduled to debate a comprehensive economic development bill (S. 2231) that includes language that would lift statutory caps on local liquor licenses for bars and restaurants.

The Senate language is strongly supported by local officials and the MMA, who argue that cities and towns should be able to determine the number of liquor licenses available within their borders.

“When it comes to deciding whether to grant new liquor licenses, local officials know and understand the needs of their communities and neighborhoods much better than the State House ever can,” said MMA Executive Director Geoff Beckwith. “Without this important provision, cities and towns will be forced to continue pursuing additional liquor licenses through a cumbersome and time-consuming home-rule process, which requires cities and towns to file special legislation and wait for approval from the Legislature and the governor. The state approval process often moves too slowly to meet local demand, delaying local economic growth and disrupting development.

“Restaurants play a key role in the vitality of neighborhoods, and increasingly serve as anchor tenants in large-scale retail or mixed-use developments of regional significance, generating tax revenue at the local and state levels,” Beckwith continued. “Delays in the liquor license issuance process are bad for business and bad for the local economy.

S. 2231 includes a number of important development tools and programs, including the expansion of the I-Cubed program, recapitalization of the Brownfields Redevelopment Fund with an additional $10 million, enhancements to the Economic Development Incentive Program to broaden it to the entire community instead of specific zones, $10 million for a Gateway Cities Transformative Redevelopment Fund, and expansions in the Housing Development Investment Program.

The Senate’s economic development bill does NOT include the telecommunications industry’s proposal to preempt municipal zoning authority on the siting of wireless antennas and equipment, although the House-passed economic development bill does.

• View full text of Senate’s economic development bill (182K PDF)