This Constitution Day, celebrated annually on September 17, the Center for Alcohol Policy is highlighting its educational resources that explain the 21^st Amendment’s role in establishing America’s state-based regulatory system.

The Center for Alcohol Policy video The Origins of America’s State-Based Regulatory System illustrates the origin of today’s alcohol regulatory system, which works to balance alcohol control with an orderly and competitive marketplace.

The video describes the Center’s republication of the book Toward Liquor Control, which outlined how states should regulate the sale and serving of alcohol following the repeal of Prohibition, and how the book is still helping shape policy today.

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Enforcement of alcohol regulations and policies was a recurring theme during the Center for Alcohol Policy’s Ninth Annual Law and Policy Conference held at the Renaissance Dallas Hotel August 28 – 30 in Dallas, Texas. The conference brought together a diverse group of state and federal alcohol regulators, law enforcement, legislators, public health advocates and alcohol beverage industry representatives to review trends in the field of alcohol regulation and learn from best practices around the country.

Jim Hall, Center for Alcohol Policy advisor and former National Transportation Safety Board chairman, welcomed attendees and summarized the objectives of the conference saying, “Look around the room. There are regulators, legislators, federal health officials, public health interest groups, trade groups, law enforcement and industry members. We may not always agree on policy, but the fact that we are all under one roof having a civil debate is an accomplishment not only for the Center for Alcohol Policy but also for your leadership in your respective fields.”

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The Center for Alcohol Policy presented Sherry Cook, executive director of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC), with the Fourth Annual Leadership in Alcohol Regulation Award. The award, which recognizes a specific program, agency or person who oversees the alcohol industry and promotes public safety, was presented by the Center’s Advisory Council at the Ninth Annual Alcohol Law and Policy Conference in Dallas, Texas.

“The Center for Alcohol Policy appreciates that alcohol regulators are the front lines of many initiatives in the states aimed at keeping the alcohol industry properly regulated, promoting public health and safety and supporting a competitive business marketplace,” said Jerry Oliver, a Center Advisory Council member who has served as alcohol regulator in Arizona and as police chief in Pasadena, Richmond and Detroit. “This award highlights effective best practices that may serve as examples to alcohol regulators in other states.”

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The Center for Alcohol Policy is pleased to announce that Roni Elias, a recent graduate of Florida A&M University College of Law, is the winner of its Eighth Annual Essay Contest. The national essay contest is intended to foster debate, analysis and examination of state alcohol regulation.

“This year’s essay gave participants from across the country the opportunity to examine the impact of the 2005 Granholm decision on today’s state-based alcohol system,” said Brannon Denning, a member of the Center’s Advisory Council and associate dean and professor of law at Samford University Cumberland School of Law.

Elias’ winning essay, “Three Cheers for Three Tiers: Why the Three-Tier System Maintains Its Legal Validity and Social Benefits After Granholm,” outlines the regulatory and economic advantages of the three-tier system and how threats to the system could erode those benefits that suppliers, wholesalers, retailers and consumers receive.

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The Center for Alcohol Policy (CAP) Eighth Annual Alcohol Law and Policy Conference kicked off day two at the Hyatt Chicago Magnificent Mile in Chicago, Illinois, with keynote remarks by South Dakota Attorney General and National Association of Attorneys General President Marty Jackley.

Attorney General Jackley detailed the role of state attorneys general in alcohol policy debates and the importance of policies that safeguard against the abuse of alcohol.

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The Center for Alcohol Policy (CAP) is pleased to announce that the Montana Department of Revenue’s Liquor Education Unit is the recipient of the Third Annual Leadership in Alcohol Regulation Award.

The award, which recognizes a specific program, agency or person who oversees the alcohol industry and promotes public safety, was presented September 10 by the CAP Advisory Council at the Eighth Annual Alcohol Law and Policy Conference, which took place at the Hyatt Chicago Magnificent Mile in Chicago, Illinois.

Accepting the award were Montana Liquor Education Unit employees Kacey Collins and Lisa Scates.

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The Center for Alcohol Policy (CAP) Eighth Annual Alcohol Law and Policy Conference began September 10 at the Hyatt Chicago Magnificent Mile in Chicago, Illinois, with a welcome by CAP Advisory Council member and former National Traffic Safety Board Chairman James Hall.

Hall noted that the conference is a key opportunity for a diverse group of state and federal alcohol regulators, law enforcement, legislators, public health advocates, members of the alcohol beverage industry and others interested in alcohol policy issues to come together to learn and share ideas.

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According to a bipartisan national poll commissioned by the Center for Alcohol Policy (CAP), the American public overwhelmingly supports the current system of alcohol regulation in the U.S. Additionally, the current regulatory system for alcohol is viewed by Americans as necessary to keeping the public safe.

“Americans recognize and agree that when it comes to a unique product such as alcohol, regulation is vital, and they support the states’ ability to set their own laws and regulations around alcohol,” said Mike Lashbrook, the Center’s executive director. “Additionally, this national survey shows that consumers are highly satisfied with the choice and variety available to them in the American marketplace.”

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This week, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon signed legislation into law creating the Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Control Fund. The fund will support enforcement of liquor and tobacco laws and will be supported by fees from liquor licenses and permits. Specifically, 70 percent of the fees collected for liquor licenses and permits are directed to the fund, which may be used only by the Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Control for the administration and enforcement of the liquor control laws and other laws prohibiting the sale of tobacco to minors.

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The Center for Alcohol Policy announced today that Mike Lashbrook, former president of the Michigan Beer and Wine Wholesalers Association (MB&WWA), has been named executive director for the Center.

Lashbrook brings to the Center more than two decades of experience in public policy and the alcohol industry. At MB&WWA, he served as the chief executive responsible for the oversight of all operations, governance and activities of the association and its subsidiaries. He was the chief spokesperson before government, the media and the public. Lashbrook joined the association as its president in 1989, serving in that post for 26 years. During that time, Lashbrook served as chair of the Wholesale Beer Association Executives and of the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America Inc. Advisory Council. He was inducted into the Michigan Society of Association Executives Association Hall of Fame in 2014.

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Former alcohol regulator Roger B. Johnson, a 38-year veteran of the Alcohol & Tobacco Enforcement Unit of the Wisconsin Department of Revenue, today released a new guide, “Alcohol Beverage Control: The Basics for New State Alcohol Regulators.”

Jim Hall, Center for Alcohol Policy advisor and former chairman of the National Traffic Safety Board, said, “This will be a useful guide for new alcohol regulators in every state, who are charged with enforcing their state’s alcohol laws, sometimes with very little resources. As an effective alcohol regulator for nearly 40 years, Roger Johnson knows what it takes to succeed in effectively and efficiently enforcing reasonable regulations that balance the sometimes competing demands of a competitive industry and the public’s health and safety.”

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The Center for Alcohol Policy (CAP) is pleased to announce that Timothy Cuffman, an accountability analyst for National Heritage Academies in Grand Rapids, Michigan, is the winner of its Seventh Annual Essay Contest. The CAP national essay contest is intended to foster debate, analysis and examination of state alcohol regulation.

The topic of the 2014 contest was: “As states contemplate the legalization of prohibited products, like marijuana, what are some lessons policymakers and regulators can learn from the movement to end alcohol Prohibition in the 1930s?”

Cuffman’s winning essay, “The Twenty-first Amendment in the Twenty-first Century: Lessons for Cannabis Reform,” outlines the legal, social and geopolitical differences between national alcohol Prohibition and the present prohibition of cannabis. He explains, “While national alcohol Prohibition in the United States was a function of a constitutional amendment (with the corresponding Volstead Act that governed enforcement), the national prohibition of cannabis is simply a function of federal law (while many states have parallel state regulations). Consequently, the method of repeal is different in each case.”

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Former Chief Counsel for the United States Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau Robert M. Tobiassen released a new report, “The ‘Fake Alcohol’ Situation in the United States: The Impact of Culture, Market Economics, and the Current Regulatory Systems,” at the Center for Alcohol Policy Seventh Annual Alcohol Law and Policy Conference in Chicago, Illinois.

As part of a panel on “Counterfeit Alcohol: A Global vs. United States Perspective,” Tobiassen described the study’s analysis of “the numerous incidents of fake alcohol products in countries around the world that are routinely reported in the news media, government announcements, social media, and medical and scientific literature with the resulting deaths, social unrest, and marketplace disruptions, among other adverse outcomes.” In contrast, the study documents few such incidents reported in the United States. Read more…

The Center for Alcohol Policy (CAP) honored Oklahoma Alcohol Beverage Laws Enforcement (ABLE) Commission Director A. Keith Burt with the Second Annual Leadership in Alcohol Regulation Award, which recognizes the work of alcohol regulators who oversee the alcohol industry and promote public safety.  The award was presented by CAP Advisory Council member and former Arizona alcohol regulator Jerry Oliver at the Seventh Annual Alcohol Law and Policy Conference.

“Keith Burt‘s tireless energy, creativity and dedication to community outreach makes him stand out from the pack,” Oliver said. “He is possibly the longest serving state alcohol regulator in the country, having started at the ABLE Commission as an accountant in 1980, yet he humbly works every day to advance the interest of Oklahomans. He has risen through the ranks to become director and always celebrates the work of the staff at the ABLE Commission. He has been a driving force in the 2Much2Lose (2M2L) efforts to prevent underage sales in Oklahoma.” Read more…

The Seventh Annual Center for Alcohol Policy (CAP) Alcohol Law and Policy Conference kicked off September 4 in Chicago, Illinois. The conference is a key opportunity for a diverse group of state alcohol regulators, public health advocates, members of the alcohol beverage industry and others interested in alcohol policy issues to come together to learn and share ideas.

Mississippi Attorney General and National Association of Attorneys General President Jim Hood delivered a keynote address on the role state attorneys general play in defending state regulations, including alcohol policies, and efforts to prevent underage drinking. Read more…

Thanks to the work of the Bill of Rights Institute and the support of the Center for Alcohol Policy, educators across the country now have access to a comprehensive “Toast the Constitution!” lesson plan to teach students about the rise and fall of national Prohibition. Developed in partnership with the National Constitution Center’s American Spirits: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition exhibit, the lesson plan teaches students about the origins of the 18^th Amendment, the individuals and groups who fought for and against Prohibition, the events that led to its eventual repeal and the creation of state-based alcohol regulation with the passage of the 21^st Amendment. Read more…

The Center for Alcohol Policy (CAP) is pleased to announce that J. Neal Insley, chairman and commissioner of the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC), and Gloria L. Materre, executive director of the Illinois Liquor Control Commission, are the recipients of the inaugural Leadership in Alcohol Regulation Award. The award, which recognizes the work of alcohol regulators who oversee the alcohol industry and promote public safety, was presented today by CAP Advisory Council member and former Arizona alcohol regulator Jerry Oliver at the Sixth Annual Alcohol Law Symposium held at the Grand Hyatt in Washington, D.C. Read more…

Former Michigan Liquor Control Commissioner and former Michigan House of Representatives Floor Leader Pat Gagliardi has authored a new report, “The Need for State Alcohol Regulatory Funding: Fighting Deregulation by Defunding,” made possible by a grant from the Center for Alcohol Policy. “The fervor to cut budgets and anti-regulatory sentiment can lead to ill-considered changes in alcohol policy,” the report notes.  “There is a real danger that state alcohol control will be reduced to the point of ineffectiveness by overburdening the regulatory system that, to date, has been successful and has enjoyed overwhelming public support.” Learn more…

Americans want to keep in place state and local alcohol regulations to keep them safe, according to a new bipartisan national poll conducted for the Center for Alcohol Policy (CAP). “Americans overwhelmingly agree that alcohol is a unique product that is not like other consumer goods, which is why they believe it needs to be treated differently,” said Patrick Lynch, former Rhode Island Attorney General, former president of the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) and current member of the CAP Advisory Council. Read more…

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.” A panel on “Alcohol Pricing Regulation: Domestic and Abroad,” explored the law and policies behind pricing regulations and the future of this form of regulation, and the Symposium concluded with a panel on “Legal Issues Facing Alcohol Distributorships,” which featured attorneys who 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. Read more…