Assembly committee hears bill to allow alcohol delivery, adds 50¢ per-drink surcharge for DUI programs

CARSON CITY — The Assembly Ways and Means Committee heard Assembly Bill 375 on Friday, a measure that would allow local governments to permit alcohol delivery by ordinance and authorize the Department of Taxation to set a user fee of up to 50 cents per drink, with proceeds earmarked for DUI enforcement, education and related programs.

Sponsor Steve Yeager, who represents Assembly District 9, told the fiscal committee the bill "allows a local government to enact an ordinance that allows alcohol to be delivered" and would authorize a user fee “not to exceed 50¢ per drink to be earmarked to use in combating DUI cases.” He said two conceptual amendments would remove or limit fiscal impacts to certain state agencies and permit the Department of Taxation to retain up to $250,000 of collected fees to cover administrative costs.

The Nevada Restaurant Association provided fiscal estimates and economic context. Peter Saba, senior government affairs manager for the association, described the Department of Taxation's earlier administrative estimate "approximately $225,000 over the biennium" and said national averages suggest more than 22 million drinks could be sold annually in Nevada under an alcohol-to-go program. Using an average price-per-drink figure included in testimony, Saba said the sector could see "over $286,000,000 in new annual restaurant revenue" and that the surcharge could generate "over $11,000,000 annually" for DUI-related programs.

Opponents raised a narrower objection. Lori Irizarry, owner of Fingerprinting Inc., said she "strongly do[es] oppose the deletion of NRS 369.625" as proposed in an amendment and urged the committee to restore the statutory requirement for alcohol awareness training cards she said have been in place in Clark and Washoe counties since the 1980s.

Committee members questioned how the fee would be applied. Yeager and Saba said the surcharge is intended to be assessed "per drink" (for example, four glasses of wine would be charged as four drinks under their reading) and that the fee would generally appear as a line item on receipts or delivery-app totals. Yeager added the Department of Taxation would have authority through regulation to set a lower fee if necessary.

Agencies that provided fiscal notes said conceptual amendments reduced their costs. Chris Sewell, director of the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation (DETR), said the conceptual amendment brought DETR's fiscal note down to zero. Joe Berdaugherty, deputy director at the Department of Taxation, confirmed the sponsor's amendment removes the department's fiscal note.

Yeager said the bill's public-safety goal is twofold: to reduce the number of intoxicated drivers who go out to obtain alcohol and to generate dedicated funding for enforcement and prevention.

Supporters at the table included the Vegas Chamber and the restaurant industry; no callers registered in favor on the phone line. One caller on the phone expressed concern about the tone of sponsor remarks and about DUI harms; the sponsor invited follow-up so concerns could be reflected in drafting.

The committee closed the hearing on AB375 and indicated the bill will proceed through the legislative process with the sponsor's conceptual amendments to address fiscal impacts.

Ending: The bill remains in committee; sponsors said they will supply a formal amendment to clarify implementation details including the role of delivery drivers, how the fee will be shown to consumers, and restoration or treatment of existing server-training requirements.