DALLAX, TX – The Fifth Annual Center for Alcohol Policy (CAP) Alcohol Law Symposium kicked off day two at The Fairmont Dallas in Dallas, Texas, with a panel discussion entitled “21^st Amendment and Supreme Court Roundup.” Presenters included Brannon Denning, CAP advisor and constitutional law professor at Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham, Alabama; and Lisa Soronen, executive director of the State and Local Legal Center, which files amicus curiae briefs in support of state and local governments in the U.S. Supreme Court.

Soronen gave a detailed overview of recent and upcoming cases impacting states’ rights before the Supreme Court and noted the heightened interest in preemption cases.  Denning examined the most publicized Supreme Court cases involving Arizona immigration law, the Stolen Valor Act and the Affordable Care Act and what the outcomes might mean regarding judicial attitudes toward alcohol policy. Specifically, the Supreme Court’s reluctance to expand the dormant Commerce Clause doctrine in recent preemption cases could bode well for 21^st Amendment cases, he said.

A panel entitled “Alcohol Pricing Regulation: Domestic and Abroad,” explored the law and policies behind pricing regulations and the future of this form of regulation.  Pam Erickson, president and CEO of Public Action Management PLC and former executive director of Oregon Liquor Control, moderated the panel, which included Bruce Livingston, executive director of Alcohol Justice; and Kyle Kaiser, assistant attorney general in the Office of the Utah Attorney General; who provided a detailed explanation of how a state attorney general responds to a price law challenge.

Erickson noted, “A balanced alcohol marketplace protects the public by keeping prices reasonable, outlets and availability limited and prevents aggressive sales practices.” She contrasted the balanced approach of the U.S. regulatory system with the United Kingdom, which deregulated alcohol over several decades so it is now sold almost anywhere 24 hours per day, is aggressively promoted and sold below-cost at supermarkets. As a result, she said, the country faces an alcohol epidemic characterized by increased rates of underage drinking and alcohol-related hospital admissions.

The Symposium concluded with a panel on “Legal Issues Facing Alcohol Distributorships,” moderated by Michael Madigan, managing partner of Madigan, Dahl & Harlan, P.A.  Alan Greenspan, general counsel for Glazer’s, Inc.; Walter Marston, partner at Marston & McNally, PC; and Andy Stepanian, general counsel at Silver Eagle Distributors in Texas; offered insights on ongoing legal, political and industry challenges to state alcohol regulation and explained the benefits of an independent three-tier system to consumers and the public.

To read live updates from the event, follow @AlcoholPolicy on Twitter using the hashtag #CAPLaw.  More details on speakers, education session topics and the Symposium agenda can be found at www.centerforalcoholpolicy.org.

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The Center for Alcohol Policy is a 501c(3) organization whose mission is to educate policy makers, regulators and the public about alcohol, its uniqueness and regulation. By conducting sound and scientific-based research and implementing initiatives that will maintain the appropriate state-based regulation of alcohol, the Center promotes safe and responsible consumption, fights underage drinking and drunk driving and informs key entities about the effects of alcohol consumption. For more information, visit www.centerforalcoholpolicy.org or follow the Center on Twitter at www.twitter.com/AlcoholPolicy.

DALLAS, TX – The Fifth Annual Center for Alcohol Policy (CAP) Alcohol Law Symposium began today with a welcome by CAP Advisory Council members Patrick Lynch, former Rhode Island attorney general, and Jim Hall, former National Transportation Safety Board chairman, who emphasized the Symposium’s value as a gathering of state alcohol regulators, public health advocates, members of the alcohol beverage industry and others interested in alcohol policy issues.

“This is an opportunity for a lot of different folks with different backgrounds to gather under one roof and have a civil debate on an important and timely subject,” Hall said.

Maryland Attorney General and National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) President Doug Gansler delivered a keynote address on the role state attorneys general play in regulatory, law enforcement and public health functions. Specifically, he emphasized the role attorneys general play in protecting the public and children from the abuses of alcohol.

Attorney General Gansler referenced the 21^st Amendment and stressed the importance of alcohol laws being made and enforced at the state level, with each state’s attorney general serving as “the watchdog in this arena,” as they work to enforce the laws passed by state legislatures. “Our job as attorneys general is not to make the law but to enforce the law.  When state legislatures pass a law, we defend it,” he said.

He cited the importance of a balanced approach to alcohol regulation and the involvement of parents, law enforcement, industry members and others in policy discussions at the state level surrounding underage drinking and drunk driving prevention, taxation rates for different types of alcohol beverages, as well as labeling and marketing practices involving flavored malt beverages or “alco-pops.”

Symposium attendees also heard from pollster Chris Wilson of Wilson Perkins Allen Opinion Research, who detailed findings of a new bipartisan national poll conducted on behalf of the CAP on public attitudes toward alcohol policy.  “Americans do not think alcohol is just another consumer product,” Wilson said.  “Americans still strongly support state regulations on alcohol.”

Wilson outlined poll data indicating that Americans support state restrictions on alcohol that are not found on other consumer goods; Americans believe that local businesses that understand the local community should manage local alcohol distribution and sales; and Americans do not want to replicate the United Kingdom’s disastrous experience with alcohol deregulation.  The survey findings are available online at www.CenterforAlcoholPolicy.org.

CAP Advisory Council member Jerry Oliver; former state alcohol regulator and former police chief in Pasadena, California, Richmond, Virginia, and Detroit, Michigan; moderated a panel on “The Impact of Alcohol Regulation on Local Law Enforcement,” which featured Frank Lyons, retired officer from the Maine Bureau of Liquor Enforcement; Andy Acord, deputy chief of the Dallas Police Department; and Sgt. Jermaine Galloway of the Boise Police Department.  While law enforcement are on the front lines of enforcing alcohol policies in local communities, too often their input and expertise is not sought before new laws are passed.  The panelists stressed the importance of involving law enforcement early on in discussions surrounding changes to alcohol policies.

A panel on “The Latest on Drunk Driving Issues” featured an update from Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) National President Jan Withers and General Counsel John Ansbach, who described the components of the Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving included in the federal transportation bill as well as state initiatives involving ignition interlock devices and sobriety checkpoints.

Alcohol regulators, public health advocates and alcohol law attorneys also spoke on panels that discussed public health and alcohol, the STOP Act, alcohol deregulation by defunding and alcohol litigation against the states.

The Fifth Annual CAP Alcohol Law Symposium continues Tuesday, September 11, at The Fairmont Dallas in Dallas, Texas.  Additional details regarding speakers, education session topics and the Symposium agenda can be found at www.centerforalcoholpolicy.org.

For live updates from the event, follow @AlcoholPolicy on Twitter using the hashtag #CAPLaw.

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The Center for Alcohol Policy is a 501c(3) organization whose mission is to educate policy makers, regulators and the public about alcohol, its uniqueness and regulation. By conducting sound and scientific-based research and implementing initiatives that will maintain the appropriate state-based regulation of alcohol, the Center promotes safe and responsible consumption, fights underage drinking and drunk driving and informs key entities about the effects of alcohol consumption. For more information, visit www.centerforalcoholpolicy.org or follow the Center on Twitter at www.twitter.com/AlcoholPolicy.