AFP-WI to Lawmakers: No Liquor Tsar in Wisconsin!

Feb 13, 2018 by AFP

TO: Honorable Members of the Wisconsin Legislature

FROM: Eric Bott, State Director

Americans for Prosperity-Wisconsin

DATE: February 13, 2018

RE: Return of the Liquor Tsar

This morning the John K. MacIver Institute for Public Policy broke a story announcing that legislation to create an Office of Alcohol Beverages Enforcement or “Liquor Tsar” in Wisconsin has returned. On behalf of more than 130,000 Americans for Prosperity activists in Wisconsin, I respectfully ask that you oppose any efforts to advance the Liquor Tsar proposal as standalone legislation or as an amendment to any existing bills.

While many legislators and special interest groups have denied the existence of such legislation, the MacIver story contains an LRB draft and Legislative Council memo, proving conclusively that such a proposal exists. According to documents obtained by MacIver, the Liquor Tsar would be appointed to a term longer than the Governor’s, serve without any accountability to a cabinet secretary, and have virtually carte blanche rule-writing authority.

We believe that an unanswerable bureaucratic post with powers this vast is ripe for regulatory capture and harmful to the accountability and transparency of our democratic institutions.

We encourage you to reject ideas like the Liquor Tsar that serve only to increase already burdensome regulatory restrictions and instead focus your energies on breaking down the government imposed barriers that are hampering Wisconsin’s craft beverage industry. We are grateful to the many legislators who have already committed to us or our activists that they would oppose any attempts to create a Liquor Tsar in Wisconsin and encourage you to hold firm.

Thank you for your consideration.

For more information, please contact Eric Bott at ebott@afphq.org.

Americans for Prosperity (AFP) exists to recruit, educate, and mobilize citizens in support of the policies and goals of a free society at the local, state, and federal level, helping every American live their dream – especially the least fortunate. AFP has more than 3.2 million activists across the nation, a local infrastructure that includes 35 state chapters, and has received financial support from more than 100,000 Americans in all 50 states. For more information, visit www.americansforprosperity.org