Bill would allow for-profit shops to obtain one-day liquor licenses, add salons and barbershops to eligible licensees

Senate Commerce Committee heard Senate Bill 87, which would make for-profit businesses eligible for one-day on-premise liquor licenses and explicitly add salons and barbershops as license-eligible venues.

Sponsor Sen. David Waters said the bill is intended to allow businesses such as for-profit galleries, jewelry stores and salons to host tastings or service events that currently are limited to nonprofit licensees. He said the change also clarifies that salon or barber-shop proprietors offering a complimentary or paid beverage are not running afoul of liquor law.

"I first want to say how much I appreciate work with the liquor commission... finding a way that really makes some good sense so that we can have these kinds of tastings and events at for-profit organizations," Waters said.

Liquor Commission staff discussed fee structures and the application process. The commission said a full cocktail-lounge annual license runs about $1,200, and a lower-tier license fee (noted in testimony as $480) is more appropriate for smaller operations. The commission also said the current one-day nonprofit license fee is $100; staff recommended differentiating fees for one-day for-profit events versus annual salon/barber licenses.

Officials said local reviews — including sign-off by municipal authorities, fire and code departments — are part of the application process and that the Liquor Commission would retain a suspension clause allowing immediate suspension of a one-day license if the event appears contrary to the public interest (for example, serious public-safety concerns). The commission noted the need to balance enabling new small-business uses with appropriate safeguards.

Committee members asked whether the bill would conflict with statutes forbidding giving away alcohol; commission staff said existing license types allow, within set limits, for holders to serve alcohol for free at licensed events but that licensing is required to authorize that activity. Senators discussed simplifying the large number of license categories in state law but acknowledged that broader recodification would be a separate, longer-term effort.

The committee closed the hearing without taking a vote. Witnesses encouraged the committee to refine fee schedules and to work with municipal partners on the application timeline and requirements.