It looks like our good friend Rep. Linda Lopez is at it again. A few weeks ago it was smoking; this week it's drive-thru liquor stores. I'll bet in the next month we'll see a proposal to ban strip clubs, and after that, who knows? After all, we only have so many vices in this state, and the Indian casinos are on sovereign land.
Monday's Wildcat reported that Lopez, a Democrat from Tucson, has proposed a bill that would prevent the Arizona Department of Liquor License and Control from issuing new licenses to liquor stores with drive-thru windows. The argument from Lopez and Yolanda Herrera, president of the Sunnyside Neighborhood Association who initially proposed the idea, is that drive-thru liquor stores promote drinking and driving. They also argue that these stores contribute to problems in the neighborhood such as littering and loitering. I hate to burst their bubble, but the drive-thru window isn't their problem.
I certainly agree with Lopez and Herrera that liquor stores attract an undesirable element, particularly for a neighborhood. But I can't understand how they managed to come to the conclusion that getting rid of the drive-thru would solve their problem. The liquor store will still be there and it will still sell to the same people.
If Lopez and Herrera really want to target the influence brought to neighborhoods by liquor stores, they ought to take a look at getting rid of the stores, not just their drive-thru windows. This brings us to the Arizona Revised Statutes, Title 4. Considering Lopez is one of the people responsible for writing these statutes, I find it more than a little disconcerting that she isn't pursuing this approach. I guess it's like my adviser once said: "We pay our legislators $24,000 a year, and you get what you pay for."
Looking through these laws, I came across the section listing the grounds on which a liquor license may be revoked. The first item on the list is repeated acts of violence or disorderly conduct on the premises. I'm sure that would address many of the concerns of residents living near liquor stores.
On an interesting side note, a liquor license can also be revoked if the licensee or controlling person lacks moral character.
Of course, there's an investigation and hearing for all complaints, but if the store is really causing problems in a neighborhood, the process would reveal that and the license would be revoked.
On the other hand, there's the old democratic axiom: Why use the process when you can just write another law?
So, let's look at a more effective legislative solution to this problem. One of the reasons cited by Lopez for her proposal was the problem of littering that comes from drive-thru windows. Why not amend A.R.S. 4-210(A) to include a provision about the impact of a liquor store on the neighboring area? For instance, if it can be conclusively shown that the liquor store is responsible for a significant amount of the litter in an area, the store's license can be revoked.
The neighborhood would probably say that's not acceptable. The liquor stores would just make sure that they keep the area clean, so the community would never be able to get the license revoked.
If, after strengthening A.R.S. 4-210(A), there still aren't grounds for revoking a store's license, the community may just have to accept the fact that people have the right to operate a business, so long as that business isn't violating any laws. If the best argument you can make against the place is that it's a liquor store and you don't like liquor stores, you may be out of luck.
Regardless, phasing out drive-thru windows isn't going to solve any problems. It's not going to cure the epidemic of drunken driving in this country, and it's not going to magically restore the blight brought upon some communities by liquor stores. If people want to clean up the influence of these stores in their neighborhoods, they ought to take advantage of the laws already in effect, instead of wasting time and energy writing new ones.
Tim Belshe is a systems engineering junior. He can be reached at letters@wildcat.arizona.edu.