Senator Joan Conway, the head of the committee that would approve such legislation for a full vote, has decided she has “too many concerns,” to allow a vote. A vote on a bill supported by 106 of 188 Senators.
Her concerns?
Her chief concern, she said, is that underage drinkers
will tap the Internet for wine. There’s no way, she said, to force
delivery agencies, whether the U.S. Postal Service or a private carrier, to verify the age of the person accepting a package.
The other problem, she said, is that it is difficult for state
officials to collect taxes from out-of-state entities – or penalize
faraway violators.
The fact that it’s an election year and she relies on support from
liquor distributors? I’m sure that’s not a factor. Nor is that her
husband is a city liquor inspector. She’s just looking out for the
children…
Liquor lobbyists strongly oppose direct shipping of
wine, saying it bypasses the state’s carefully crafted network of
government entities that regulate the sale of alcohol. Developed just
after the end of Prohibition in 1933, state law requires alcohol to
pass from producer to wholesaler to retailer before it reaches the
consumer.
“What do you think the liquor boards are for?” Bruce C. Bereano, a
lobbyist for the Licensed Beverage Distributors of Maryland, says of
the bill.
The wine-shipping legislation would require manufacturers who import
to be licensed, but Bereano says such a system would “not be a
meaningful substitute” for liquor inspectors charged with the authority
to shut down a business selling to underage customers.
…well, the children of the liquor distributors lobby, anyway. And
holding out hope for someone else to step up and get past her
blockade? Not likely.
All 188 lawmakers and Gov. Martin O’Malley,
a Democrat, are up for election this fall, further imperiling the
wine-shipping bill. According to a 2008 analysis by The Baltimore Sun,
more than 80 percent of state legislators have received campaign
contributions from the liquor lobby.
This has nothing to do with protecting children, and everything to
do with protecting distributors, who’s revenues apparently are more
important than the freedom of the people in Maryland.
Crossposted at The Grand Crew