Assembly passes bills to overhaul alcohol industry, help kids learn to read

 

MADISON Wis. (CBS 58) -- Assembly Republicans passed a sweeping bill that would overhaul the alcohol industry by changing the way it's distributed, sold and regulated at wedding barn venues.

The legislation passed with bipartisan support and is backed by craft brewers and the Tavern League, but some wedding barn owners in rural areas are opposed and say it would upend their business if signed into law.

Those who are celebrating the bill passage said it was years in the making to reach an agreement to allow breweries to sell different products, such as seltzers, beer from out of state or other types of alcohol, extend hours at wineries, and expand the liquor license permit process to allow businesses to apply for one at the county level if the municipality has reached their limit.

Some other provisions in the bill include:

• Breweries could sell beers produced outside of Wisconsin, which is currently not allowed 
• The closing time for wineries would be pushed back from 9 p.m. to midnight 
• Bars could stay open until 4 a.m. during the 2024 Republican National Convention in the counties of Milwaukee, Waukesha, Ozaukee, Washington, Racine, Kenosha, Walworth, Dodge, Rock, Dane, Columbia, Fond du Lac and Sheboygan 

The proposal would create a new division within the Department of Revenue to manage and regulate the new laws governing how beer, wine and liquor products are sold. 

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) and Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu (R-Oostburg), the two lead authors of the bill, and Evers, were included in negotiations with alcohol industry representatives when the proposal was drafted.  

Some wedding barn owners said their voice was ignored during that process. Under the bill, those venues would be either required to get a liquor license or only operate six days a year. If they don't obtain a license, guests would be allowed to bring their own beer, wine or hire a caterer.  

Republicans added an amendment to the bill to honor couples who booked weddings to address some of the criticism voiced by wedding barn owners.  

Without a license, weddings or other events at wedding barns would be banned for serving signature cocktails, such those that include vodka or whiskey.  

Jean Bahn, owner of Farmview Event Barn, testified against the bill earlier this month. She said the restriction of only hosting six events a year would crush her business because it would be difficult to obtain a license since her farm is included in the state's Farmland Preservation Program. Bahn said she's worried she would have to re-zone part of her property to get a liquor license.  

Proponents of the bill said it was necessary to regulate wedding barns because they said they were operating under a different set of rules compared to other businesses that have a license.  

'Science of Reading' Literacy Bill  

To help improve reading scores, Assembly Republicans approved a bill for schools to adopt a new way of teaching kids to read.  

The proposal underwent some changes after the Department of Public Instruction and Gov. Evers expressed opposition to a retention policy that would hold third graders back from advancing to the fourth grade if their reading scores were insufficient.  

The new version of the bill no longer includes the retention aspect to hold back students and instead provides students additional instruction services and monitoring to remediate the areas of reading deficiency. 

State Superintendent Jill Underly said with those changes DPI now supports the bill but acknowledged there's more work to be done.  

"We have a significant amount of work ahead of us to help change student outcomes, but this reading package is a big step in the right direction," Underly said in a statement.  

Most Democrats voted against the bill because they argued process to craft this bill was rushed and doesn't go far enough to address literacy gaps.  

"Quite frankly [this bill] feels like orchestrated chaos to me," said Rep. Kristina Shelton (D-Green Bay) in response to Republican, rejected their motion to move the bill back to committee for further review.  

Britt Cudaback, a spokeswoman for Evers, said their office is still reviewing the changes to the bill. The proposal now advances to the Senate for consideration.