MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Lawmakers here seem to love their beer. They’ve allowed grocery stores to hand out free samples, shunned a proposal to boost the beer tax and ensured that daylight-saving time didn’t hasten last call.
Politicians know the rich tradition of brewing in the state and treat beer-related issues with kid gloves, said Jerry Apps, who has written a history of Wisconsin breweries. Brewers and sellers are among the state’s most powerful lobbies.
“It’s beer, cheese, brats and the Packers. Let’s face it, it’s been our history for some time,” Mr. Apps said.
Wisconsin’s taste for beer can be traced to its German settlers, who opened the first breweries and saw their numbers grow to roughly 400 by the late 1800s.
“It’s one of our icons,” Mr. Apps said of the beverage. “You don’t go lobbing stones at our icons.”
Just ask Democratic state Rep. Terese Berceau. Her proposal to increase the tax on beer went flat.
“We have given more favorable treatment to the beer industry than any other in this state,” Miss Berceau said. “Everybody’s so afraid of the beer tax and beer industry.”
So afraid, it seems, that she could find only two lawmakers among her 131 colleagues to co-sponsor the proposal.
The Tavern League of Wisconsin, the lobbying arm for the state’s 13,000 bars, is generally recognized as one of the most powerful forces in the Capitol.
“I guess overall we’re treated all right,” said the group’s executive director, Pete Madland. “I think people understand the nature of our business and our industry.”
Miss Berceau is not the only one frustrated with the beer industry’s influence with state lawmakers.
“Drunken driving issues, especially in Wisconsin, are tough for us,” said Lindsay Desormier of the Wisconsin chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
Though the state’s penalties for some serious DUI offenses are on par with others, Wisconsin is the only state where a first offense is treated like a traffic ticket with no chance of jail time, Miss Desormier said.
Wisconsin is also one of the few states that allows parents to purchase alcohol for their children to consume in their presence, she said.
Democratic Gov. James E. Doyle recently signed into law a bill that ensured there would be no confusion about last call when taverns adjusted their clocks for daylight-saving time in March.
Mr. Doyle also signed a bill allowing retailers such as grocery stores and liquor stores to promote a particular beer brand or special with free samples.
The legislative session hasn’t gone completely in the brewers’ favor.
Small brewery owners mounted a protest at a July hearing on a proposal to set new limits on how much beer they could produce. The day before the hearing, angry brewers put a new spin on the Boston Tea Party and dumped beer into the Milwaukee River.
The bill’s author subsequently tabled the proposal.
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