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Wine in grocery stores bill airs at Capitol Jennifer O'Rourke The wine in grocery stores legislation was officially introduced in the Legislature on Monday as SF 914 and HF 938. The chief author of the Senate bill is Sen. Linda Scheid (DFL-Brooklyn Park); Senate co-authors of the bill are Senators Steve Kelley (DFL-Hopkins), Cal Larson (P~-Fergus Falls), Scott Dibble (DFL-Minneapolis), and Bob Kieflin (P~-Winona). The chief author of the House bill is t~ep. Barb Sykora (R-Excelsior); House co-authors are Representatives Erik Paulsen (P~-Eden Prairie), Phyllis Kahn (DFL-Minne- apolis),JeffJohnson (R-Plymouth), and Michael Beard (P~-Shakopee). On the Senate side, the bill has been referred to the Commerce & Regulated Industries Committee and has been promised a hearing before the first deadline of April 4. The House bill has been referred to the Regulated Industries Committee, which is a change from other years when the bill had gone through the Commerce Committee. As introduced, the bill would require cities to issue an off-sale wine license to a supermarket located within the city if the supermarket applies and meets certain criteria. Essentially, the supermarket would have to demomtrate it has established and implemented a training program for employees on the sale of wine and has a theft prevention program in place. The city would have to conduct at least one unannounced youth access compli- ance check per year. The bill further states that the fee cities charge for a license may not exceed the amount reasonably necessary to recover costs associated with issuing licenses and inspecting supermarkets. It's hard to know if this is the year the wine in grocery stores bill will become law. A few years ago, the bill was introduced as a metro-only bill. Proponents of the bill have been very aggressive in their public campaign efforts over the past few years to gain consumer support. For example, they have placed fliers in grocery stores touting the convenience of being able to pick up a bottle of wine at the same place one would purchase dinner items. The bill was defeated last legislative session in the House Commerce Committee. Capitol insiders do not remember the Senate ever taking votes on this piece of legislation. The League and member cities have discussed the wine in grocery stores issue during LMC policy committee meetings. Last summer, the Minnesota Grocers Association presented its perspective on the issue with members of the LMC Improving Service Delivery Policy Committee. In addition, the League has formally addressed the issue in its youth access to tobacco and alcohol policy, which "opposes any proposal that could result in increased risks of youth access to alcohol and tobacco products and expanded venues for the sale of such products." To stay current on issues related to HF 938/SF 914, participate in the LMC wine-in-grocery stores listserv. To sign up, visit the LMC Listservs page of the LMC web site at: www. lmnc. org/forms/listserv, cfm. Listserv membership is limited to city officials and city staff. ~ Senate passes development fee report exemption Laura Offerdahl A bill that would change the current April 1 reporting deadline for munici- pal construction and development- related fees, and exempt municipalities that collect less than $5,000 of these fees each year, passed the Senate State and Local Government Committee on Monday. The bill, SF 726 (Sams, DFL-Staples), passed unanimously and was referred to the Consent Calendar for action by the full Senate. Many small cities and towns have little development occurring in their communities, and, as a result, collect few development-related fees. If this bill passes both bodies and is signed by the governor prior to April 1,2003, cities that collect less than $5,000 of these fees would not be required to file a report this year or in future years. Cities that collect more than $5,000 per year in construction and develop- ment fees would have until June 30 each year to file their reports with the Building Codes and Standards Division in the Dept. of Administration. The House Local Government and Metropolitan Affairs Committee is scheduled to hear the companion bill on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. in Room 200 of the State Office Building. For information on HF 744/ SF 726, visit the legislative bill tracker on the Minnesota Legislature's web site at: http://www, leg. state.mn. us/leg/legis.asp. If you have questions about the legislation, please contact Laura Offerdahl, LMC, at (651) 281-1260 or lofferdahl~lmnc.org. ~ March 19, 2003 Page 9