MTA committee gets Staples legislative recap
Montana Tavern Association Government Affairs Counsel Mark Staples told the group's Legislative and Gambling Committee the 2009 session of the Montana Legislature "went pretty well" for licensed businesses and credited members for their hard work before and during the session.
"All of our work from before elections and through the session all ties together," Staples said. And the work never ends, he added, pointing out that term limits means 30 legislators—"the backbone of it all"—won't be returning in 2001.
"We have to start looking now at who will be running," he said at the May 5 meeting at Jorgenson's in Helena. "We need to start recruiting good candidates who will be fair to small business. We need to start our candidate forums earlier and I need to make sure they occur."
Some bills that would have been damaging to licensed businesses were never introduced or died in committee, Staples said, while a few opposed by MTA made it out of one chamber but died in the other. "These could all be back" in some future session, Staples cautioned.
He said of most concern to the association members were bills that would have damaged the carefully constructed system of controls the state has built up over the decades to provide an orderly system of regulation for alcohol production, distribution and retail sales. None of those passed in this legislative process, he said, "but there are always those who want to dismantle the system."
Still, the association had its hands full with other bills that would have a material effect on the industry, Staples said.
Two off-premise wine tasting bills were introduced but died, Staples noted, as did a bill to allow agency liquor stores to locate adjacent to grocery stores, which was sought by an individual with a particular self interest, a past of trying to skirt the rules, and who is not a liquor merchant nor supported by the liquor store owners association.
A bill allowing Montana breweries to produce stronger specialty beers with up to 14 percent alcohol content passed, as did a contentious bill that redefined a mortgage holder's ownership interest in a licensed business.
Another bill that would have recognized a licensee's efforts to certifiably train staff, coupled with mitigation of penalties for subsequent violations, went through several transformations, then was withdrawn when interested parties agreed the desired effects could be accomplished through agreed upon administrative rules, a process where MTA would be involved, Staples said.
He said a compromise proposal worked out between the Department of Revenue and licensee associations, largely abetted by the personal efforts of Gaming Industry Association Executive Director Neil Peterson, will allow for additional graduated steps in the penalty schedule for violations, provided servers are trained in a department-approved program.
Staples warned the group the sixth violation would mean "you're gone" from the business. He lauded the department for opting for an incentive-based way to encourage licensees to get servers certified. The rules should take effect Oct. 1, he said.
One member suggested a training certification should be allowed to be extended rather than retaken every year. Another said getting trainers certified within 30 days could be burdensome, especially to more rural businesses far removed from training seminars. Another said he has received discounts on his insurance for training staff.
Staples noted no bill to increase the gaming tax rate had been introduced, though a bill draft to that effect had been requested, and that a five-cent per drink tax bill had died in committee.
He said a bill supported by MTA to exempt club entertainers from requirements that they either be a bona fide employee or else have secured a legal independent contractor status for a $125 fee passed, but was pared down to include musicians only, leaving out dancers, comedians and so on. He added that businesses hiring musicians who aren't either employees or certified independent contractors must have a written contract with the performers.
A bill that would have allowed counties to enact ordinances to penalize adults who hosted parties where minors consumed alcohol died early in the session, Staples said, noting MTA supported the bill since it has been shown that the vast majority of minors obtain alcohol illegally from friends and relatives, rather than licensed retailers.
He said a bill to allow cities to levy local option sales taxes also died mostly due to opposition from rural legislators who don't want constituents to pay taxes to other local governments in cities where they may have to trade. The bill did allow for some revenue sharing with outlying towns and also called for some property tax reduction, he said.
A bill to allow businesses to credit employee tips toward fulfillment of minimum wage obligations went through several evolutions, Staples said, but was ultimately defeated in committee.
Staples said a bill to ear-mark a percentage of any growth in video gaming machine tax collections to support horse racing also died, mostly because it carried a substantial fiscal note indicating money would be lost to the state treasury.
He noted legal machine gambling in Montana had at times been falsely blamed for the decline of public interest in pari-mutuel horse racing. He pointed to the decline of the sport everywhere, including jurisdictions with little or no legal gambling alternatives.
A bill to compensate citizens or businesses when government action resulted in lost property or value died in the late going, Staples said. MTA supported the bill.
A bill to remove foodservice inspection fees from legislative oversight and instead allow them to be set by agencies via the administrative rules process was generally opposed by the hospitality industry, Staples said.
He pointed out the benefits of food service inspections accrue mostly to the general public, so many lawmakers felt the public rightly should share some of the cost.
He said state and county health departments lobbied vigorously for the original bill, but it was ultimately amended (and passed) to reasonably increase the graduated fees amounting to over $300,000 in new costs to business and new revenue for health inspections.
That concluded Staples' report, but a board member then asked him if he thought local governments might seek to impose even more stringent measures on businesses following implementation of the full indoor smoking ban Oct. 1.
Staples said he thought the public backed the current law and would find it effective and adequate, but that it was possible.
He said the best thing licensed businesses, currently exempt, could do to retain public support was to fully comply, as usual, with all laws, including the new smoking ban. Aside from public and peer pressure to comply, he said, for the law to be fair and the business playing field kept level, all ought to observe the letter and intent of the law.
Another member urged MTA to compose and send a letter to the state's congressional delegation urging them to oppose the Employee Free Choice Act introduced in both the U.S. House and Senate March 10 which would authorize a simple "card check" process to call for an election to form a union.
The committee voted to urge the full board to do so.
Source: The Montana Tavern Times, May 2009, published monthly by Continental Communications, 125 W Granite, Suite 102, Butte MT. 59701