Urgent Legislative Alert from the Wyoming State Liquor Association!

Urgent Legislative Alert from the Wyoming State Liquor Association!

From Mike Moser, WSLA Executive Director February 11, 2012

The WSLA needs your help in contacting your Wyoming Representatives immediately (this week)! A bill… House Bill 53 (Liquor licenses) sponsored by Representative Gerald Gay (R-Casper)… has just been proposed. This legislation would increase the annual renewal fee for a full retail liquor license in Wyoming from a minimum of $300 to $1,500, and increase the cap on the annual fee that cities and counties can chargefrom $1,500 to $10,500!

HB 53 would increase the minimum annual fee for a full retail liquor license up to400%, and the maximum annual fee for retail licenses would increase 600%! Such an increase is unprecedented, and needs your urgent action to help stop.

The language from House Bill 53:

12-4-201. Retail liquor licenses and malt beverage permits; population formulas; fees.

(e) The license fee to be assessed for a retail liquor license shall be not less than three hundred dollars($300.00)one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500.00) nor more than one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500.00)ten thousand five hundred dollars ($10,500.00) payable annually in advance.

Over 75% of Wyoming cities and counties charge less than the $1,500 maximum for an annual renewal for liquor licenses… which means that with HB 53 over three quarters of our cities and counties would receive a state mandate to increase the annual fees, whether they choose to or not! Municipalities and counties with lower population frequently charge less because the businesses tend to be smaller… which means with HB 53, we are dramatically increasing the cost of doing business for some of the smallest businesses in Wyoming.

Full retail licensees in cities such as Casper, Cheyenne, Laramie, Saratoga, Jackson, Riverton, Torrington, Buffalo, Sheridan and others that already pay the maximum $1,500 annual fee will get hit on the other end. HB 53 would give the municipalities who already charge the maximum the ability to increase the annual fees to $10,500… a 600% increase!

House Bill 53 is a bad idea made worse by the fact that so many of our businesses are struggling. They can call it a “fee increase”, but essentially, it’s a tax increase. How can anyone justify punishing our businesses with dramatically higher fees in a time of recession? How can we call Wyoming “business friendly” when the practical reality is that proposals such as this punish existing businesses to the point, in some cases, of threatening their very survival?

Please contact your Representative (not your Senator, since this is a House Bill) and urge them to vote “No!” on the Introduction to House Bill 53. Additional contact information is below.

Contact information: Whether you e-mail or call, please tell your Representative clearly who you are, what you are calling about, and whatever else you want them to know. Remember, our Wyoming Legislators are working very hard this time of year, so be to the point, and be polite. Certainly contact your local legislators, but you may also contact other legislators, particularly those who represent your surrounding areas. You can make up your own, but here’s a sample script for a guideline… use as much or as little as you want:

Representative (Name),

My name is ______I live in ______(If you own or work for a business, mention that too).

I am urgently requesting that you vote “No” on House Bill 53(Liquor Licenses) sponsored by Representative Gay. This bill would dramatically increase annual license fees for hundreds of Wyoming businesses, not just by increasing the maximum we pay annually by 600%, from $1500 to $10,500, but will also mandate that those cities and counties that charge less than the maximum to increase their fees to $1,500, which in some cases, is a mandatory 400% increase. Dramatically increasing the financial bottom line for hundreds of Wyoming businesses is not good legislation, or good business. Please vote “No” on House Bill 53! Thank you.

You can contact your Representative in the following ways:

• Go to legisweb.state.wy.us/ click on “E-mail your Representative” and send them a message.
• To get an individual Legislator’s individual phone number and contact information, go to legisweb.state.wy.us/ under “House Members” in the right hand column.
• Or you can use the new Legislative “On-Line Hotline” at the top of the right hand column on legisweb.state.wy.us/
• Phone the House at 777-7852 or the Legislative Hot Line at 866-996-8683 to leave a message… you’ll talk to someone who will send you to the Legislator’s voice mail. If you choose to make a phone call, you’ll have less time to leave a message. Leave it for a particular Legislator, give your name and where you live and/or do business, and say something like, “Please vote “NO” on House Bill 53, which would dramatically increase the annual renewal fees for retail liquor licenses”.

To find out who your legislator is, go to legisweb.state.wy.us/ and look up “Locate your Legislator”.

YOUR HELP IS URGENTLY NEEDED TO STOP HOUSE BILL 53, WHICH WOULD INCREASE YOUR ANNUAL LIQUOR LICENSE RENEWALS BY UP TO 600%!

WE NEED YOU TO ACT IMMEDIATELY TO CONTACT YOUR WYOMING REPRESENTATIVESON OR BEFORE FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 17.

WE NEED TO STOP HOUSE BILL 53 NOW!

Call Mike Moser at 307-634-6484 or e-mail with any questions.

P.O. Box 1894  Cheyenne, WY 82003