DOR employee drawn in liquor license lottery
Pub Date: 2/1/2006
An employee of the Montana Department of Revenue (DOR) who works in the tobacco tax division, was one of two lottery winners recently given the chance to acquire and move an all-beverage "floater" license into Bozeman.
A "floater" is a license that can be moved from a jurisdiction where there are too many licenses for a given population and moved to another where there are too few and thus becomes worth considerably more.
Lynn Grosfield of Helena, a DOR employee, has reportedly been applying routinely for new licenses that are occasionally issued for Montana cities that are growing. But this time she hit the jackpot when she was selected from among 261 applicants along with Graciann Harrington of Portland, Ore.
Prior to 2003, license applicants were required to actually possess a suitable location where the license would be put to use, which was deemed a demonstration of the earnestness of the applicant and application. But a change in rules initiated by the revenue department deleted that requirement, opening up the application process to virtually anyone and to the rampant speculation that has followed.
The Montana Tavern Association opposed the rule change, according to MTA attorney and lobbyist Mark Staples, warning it could lead to the license free-for-all that has in fact ensued.
"Under the old rules an applicant was usually serious about opening a business developing a commercial location with adult beverage service," said Staples, "which is why MTA opposed entities being able to join in the lotteries with no premises upon which to place the license. We said it would lead to out-and-out license speculation and it has.
"Though it looks like hell, the fact that Lynn is a department employee, under the new rules, is sadly beside the point," Staples said. "The problem is we've opened it up to folks with no demonstrable experience or intentions of actually going into a sustained retail on-premise alcohol business'; they've set it up now so someone can just take multiple shots at getting a license, and if they do, park it somewhere for three years and then sell it."
Jason Woods, a licensing specialist at DOR, told the Tavern Times that an employee involved in liquor or gaming licensure would, if awarded a license, have to resign from their position because of a statutory conflict of interest. Grosfield, however, works in tobacco taxation and so has no such conflict, Woods said.
He said the license Grosfield has acquired came out of Beaverhead County.
A restaurant beer and wine license without gaming privileges also became available due to population growth in Bozeman. Brian Friesz of Whitehall was drawn in that lottery.
Source: The Montana Tavern Times, Feb., 2006, published monthly by Continental Communications, 125 W. Granite St., Suite 102, Butte, MT 59701.