Legislature passes liquor bill
■ Lawmakers vote to allow
liquor stores open Sundays,
but the governor may veto
By John Liebhardt
Oregon Daily Emerald
If the Legislature has its way,
Oregonians will be able to purchase
a little more spirit on Sundays.
The Oregon Legislature passed a
resolution during last weekend’s
special session that would allow
the state’s 237 liquor stores to open
for business on Sundays. The mon
ey from Sunday sales of distilled
beverages would go to the state’s
general fund programs, including
the Oregon University System.
budget deficit, and the Democratic
governor is at odds with the Repub
lican-controlled Legislature on how
to rebalance the state’s budget.
“At least (Sunday liquor sales)
will be an ongoing source of rev
enue,” said State Sen. Tony Corco
ran, D-Cottage Grove. Corcoran
nicknamed the legislation “shots
for tots” because it would provide
added revenue that could be tun
neled directly to public schools.
Oregon has been in the liquor
business since 1933, when legisla
tors decided to make the state re
sponsible for the sale of packaged
liquor. Legislators created Oregon
Liquor Control Commission to han
dle that task.
erages are one of the last things to
come out of people’s budgets.”
If the governor does not veto the
legislation, supporters say it will
provide an added $3 million in state
revenue. Local liquor store owners
doubt it will ever create that much
money because the OLCC has said it
won’t force stores to open on Sun
day, which may reduce the amount
of alcohol bought that day.
“We can’t tell how much revenue
it will generate right away, but it
will generate revenue,” Palke said.
Connie Hammond, co-owner of
Northgate Liquor in Springfield, said
she and her husband Tom Ham
mond are not looking forward to the
prospect of opening on Sundays.
Russell Weller Emerald
Is gin a tonic for Oregon’s budget woes?
The Oregon Liquor Control Commission distributes
more than $100 million per year in net revenue.
Figures are in millions of dollars
State General Fund $52.5
City Revenue Sharing Account $13.1
Cities $18.7
Counties $9.4
Mental Health, Alcoholism and Drug Services Account $6.2
Wine Advisory Board_ $0.2
Total $100.1
Source: Oregon Liquor Control Commission
Oregon law currently forbids
liquor stores to open Sundays,
while grocery outlets may sell beer
and wine all week.
However, Gov. John Kitzhaber
may stop the party before it gets un
der way. Kitzhaber announced he
may veto the bill, along with eight
others, passed by the Legislature
during the special session. A
spokesman for Kitzhaber said the
governor is expected to decide on
its fate by Tuesday at the earliest.
Supporters of the measure see an
extra day of liquor sales as another
way to increase revenue for a cash
strapped state. Currently, Oregon is
facing an estimated $830 million
During the past fiscal year, OLCC
contributed more than $100 mil
lion to different state funds, with a
majority going to the state’s general
fund, the primary pool of revenue
for state-funded programs.
Liquor “has been one good source
of revenue for the state,” said Ken
Palke, spokesman for the OLCC.
OLCC purchases stock from alco
hol distributors and has the 237
liquor stores sell the inventory.
Palke said liquor is a safe business
because it is recession proof.
“When times are real good, peo
ple tend to buy higher end prod
ucts,” he said. During a recession
“durable goods like food and bev
“We enjoy Sundays off,” she
said. “We work six days a week,
and Sunday is very appreciated.”
Hammond said she usually spends
her day off cleaning shelves,
preparing stock and conducting
general store maintenance.
Also, years of Oregon blue laws
have conditioned Northgate
liquor’s customers to plan ahead for
their purchases.
“Our customers know that we
are not open on Sundays, so they
do all of their shopping during the
week,” she said.
E-mail community editor John Liebhardt
atjohnliebhardt@dailyemerald.com.
News brief
Student Senate
approves EMU budget
After an hour of discussion, the
ASUO Student Senate Wednesday
night voted to approve a 2.6 percent
increase in the EMU budget, setting
it at$2,924,191 for 2002-2003.
The board passed the budget by a
vote of 9-1. Three senators who are
on the EMU Board abstained. Sena
tors passed the budget as requested
by the EMU Board, with little de
bate over line items within it.
EMU programs that received
new increases in areas such as pro
grams and employment included
the UO Cultural Forum, the UO
Ticket Office and EMU Club
Sports. Senators briefly discussed
the club sports program.
Sen. Eric Bailey asked for an ex
planation of how club sports pro
grams could receive incidental fees
and yet cut some people from teams
during tryouts.
“All incidental fee-funded pro
grams need to be open to every stu
dent on campus,” he said.
Club Sports Chairman Josh Gree
nough said cuts are necessary in some
teams, especially traveling groups.
“It’s just not feasible for us to
have 100 people on a soccer team,”
he said. He added that other club
sports programs “absolutely en
courage beginners. ”
As a result of the EMU Budget
Committee’s decision to eliminate
the Student Activities Resource Of
fice, there may be an EMU budget
balance of $32,000 next year. If cur
rent S ARO coordinator Debra Mar
tin retires or is hired on in another
University position, her salary will
revert to the EMU budget. Other
wise, the money will continue to be
paid to Martin because her position
is contracted.
Some senators suggested moving
this money to surplus funds, but af
ter some discussion, the senate de
cided the EMU Board would allo
cate the money to groups
throughout the year as needed, if
the money becomes available.
Prior to the EMU budget hearing,
senators voted 11-1 to appoint law
student Daneal Grotenhouse to the
vacant PFC senate seat. PFC Chair
woman Mary Elizabeth Madden
voted against her appointment.
They also voted 10-2 to appoint
law student Stephen Yoshida to the
ASUO Constitution Court.
— Kara Cogswell
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