MichMash: Michigan Legislature Considers Changes to State Alcohol Laws

The Michigan State Senate recently passed bills that would impose penalties and potentially revoke liquor licenses for retailers who fail to provide electronic payments to their wholesalers, and would also require co-branded alcoholic beverages to be separated from non-alcoholic beverages in an effort to reduce underage drinking.

MichMash Host Cheyna Roth and Zach Gorchow of Gongwer News Service join Spencer Nevins, president of the Michigan Beer and Wine Wholesalers Association, to discuss the potential changes to the state’s liquor laws that would have the greatest impact on the alcohol industry.

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In this episode:

• The head of the Michigan Department of Corrections, Heidi Washington, has come under criticism for the poor working conditions of MDOC employees.
• Co-branded alcohol guidelines.
• Michigan’s beer tax and why it hasn’t changed in 60 years.

Nevins said that before Prohibition, we lived in a deregulated system. After Prohibition ended, lawmakers wanted to separate the suppliers from the resale side. “They developed the licensing system and put the dealers in it. Dealers have to be based in the state. And there, state regulators can verify that taxes are being paid,” Nevens said.