County’s Ad Hoc Committee on Liquor Control Meets Today
The Montgomery County Council’s Ad Hoc Committee on Liquor Control is scheduled to meet this morning for the sixth time to study of the County’s Department of Liquor Control (DLC).
Today, the committee will review an option to the current system that would allow the private wholesale distribution of special order beer and wine to stores and restaurants.
The Ad Hoc Committee is chaired by Hans Riemer and includes Council President George Leventhal, chair of the Council’s Health and Human Services Committee, and Marc Elrich, chair of the Council’s Public Safety Committee. The broadcast also will be streamed at: http://tinyurl.com/khktggw.
Much of the committee’s direction has been guided by the report from the Office of Legislative Oversight (OLO) titled “A Review of Alcohol Control in Montgomery County.” The report states that feedback from a sample of licensees (restaurants, beer and wine stores, others who obtain liquor licenses) indicated that some are dissatisfied with DLC’s operations, processes and performance as the sole wholesaler of alcoholic beverages in the County. The report found that the sample of licensees is particularly dissatisfied with the availability of wine and special order products.
In the report, “Option 4” of potential reforms of the current system would allow private distributors to directly handle special orders desired by beer and wine stores and restaurants. At its May 8 worksession, the committee requested that OLO provide additional information on “Option 4,” which would have the County maintain control of the wholesale distribution for stock beer and wine products and the wholesale and retail distribution for all liquor products. Under this option, the significant change in County operations would involve the distribution of special orders.
The OLO report was released on Feb. 10. The entire report can be viewed at: http://tinyurl.com/od82zd8 .
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