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Senate fails substitute to broaden local control in alcohol proximity and related changes
Summary
A proposed substitute to Senate Bill 328 that would have shifted some proximity rules and other alcohol-license provisions to local control failed on the floor after debate. Lawmakers split over whether such a substantive policy shift should be adopted late in the session without broader vetting.
The Utah Senate on Tuesday voted down a substitute for Senate Bill 328, a package of alcohol-law changes that included a provision shifting certain proximity rules for parks and playgrounds to local governments and other adjustments to licensing rules.
Senator Stevenson, the sponsor, described multiple changes in the substitute: clarifying definitions (including amphitheater definitions), restoring authority for licensing sanctions in certain repeat-violation cases, allowing limited off-premises pickup under some circumstances, and addressing proximity rules tied to large mixed-use developments such as the Point at the Mountain.
Multiple senators raised procedural and policy concerns. Senator Fillmore offered a narrower substitute late in debate that would have removed a broad change shifting proximity authority from the state to local governments and instead made a more targeted fix for a specific development; supporters of the narrower substitute said the larger policy change deserved more time and vetting. Senator Cullimore said he was prepared to vote yes with the more limited substitute but opposed the broader shift to local control without additional review.
After the floor substitution process, the chamber voted on the substitute reported by the sponsor. The clerk announced the result: 13 yeas, 15 nays and 1 absent — the substitute failed. The floor announcement noted the substitute would be returned to staff for filing.
Ending: The transcript indicates the sponsor and some members want to continue work on alcohol licensing issues and proximity policy, but the broader proximity change did not secure a majority at this late stage of the session.
