Liquor Control Commission highlights increased caseload, new case management system

The Ohio Liquor Control Commission reported a surge in administrative caseload and described steps to modernize case processing while maintaining timely decisions, Executive Director Sarah Creedon told the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee.

"The Commission typically hears about 2,000 cases annually. However, during fiscal years 23–24, the Commission exceeded the average annual caseload, hearing a total of over 4,800 cases," Creedon said. She said the commission also collected more than $1.8 million in financial forfeitures for deposit into the General Revenue Fund and manages roughly 28,000 active liquor permits in Ohio.

Creedon described the commission’s new case management system (Matrix), which has replaced an outdated internal database and will be extended to improve workflows on citation cases that originate with partner agencies. She said the system will help with tracking, issuing notices and expediting case resolution when fully implemented.

The Liquor Control Commission requested $1,177,114 for FY 2026 (a projected 4% decrease from the FY 2025 estimate) and $1,241,735 for FY 2027. Creedon said the commission receives 100% of its funding from the State Liquor Regulatory Fund and receives no GRF dollars; permit fees collected by the Division of Liquor Control fund the commission’s operations.

Creedon told senators the commission is working with partner agencies to implement the Matrix system for citation workflow and expects gains in operational efficiency that will offset subscription and implementation costs over time. Senators asked about the variable nature of hearing costs related to mileage, court reporters and transcription; Creedon said caseload volume directly affects those expenses and that the current request accounts for anticipated variability.

Committee members thanked Creedon for the testimony and asked no follow‑up questions that resulted in action at the hearing.