Unions are challenging the new liquor law
Last month, the state’s voters approved Initiative 1183 (which became law on Thursday, December 8, 2011) that essentially booted the state out of the liquor sales business. Washington residents are looking forward to having the ability to purchase liquor in grocery stores in June instead of having to make a special trip to state-run liquor retailers. However, some people are suing in order to prevent the law from taking effect.
A pair of unions has filed suit in King County Superior Court alleging that the measure is unconstitutional. The lawsuit claims that I-1183 addresses more than one issue, which violates a rule set forth in the state constitution – commonly referred to as “log rolling.” The suit claims that the initiative creates new protections for liquor distributors, alters wine distribution laws, and modifies how alcohol advertising can be regulated by the Liquor Control Board, which are separate issues they assert and should not have been in one bill.
It should come as no surprise that the two unions filing suit are comprised of members who will likely lose their jobs as a result of the new law. The United Food and Commercial Workers Local 21 represents some 700 employees of state-run liquor stores, and many members of the Teamsters work at liquor and wine distributors in Washington. However, one professor at the University of Washington quoted by the Seattle Times notes that such legal challenges based on the “single-rule” argument are rarely successful.
Some opponents of I-1183 claimed that increased access to liquor would boost the incidence of DUIs in Washington. But a recent study showed that there is no significant difference in DUI rates between states where liquor is privately sold and those where the government oversees liquor sales.