State must modernize liquor license process
Wisconsin’s antiquated system of applying for and renewing liquor licenses is a waste of business owners‘ and taxpayer time and money.
Wisconsin needs to reform the process and automate it through a centralized state system under the Department of Revenue similar to one used for other business transactions with the state.
Wisconsin currently has a decentralized process when it comes to liquor and bartender/operator licenses with each municipality responsible for establishments within its borders. What this means is that there are 1,852 town, village, and city clerks interpreting and enforcing the state liquor laws, leading at times to differing interpretations from one community to another.
From the employee standpoint, someone seeking a job serving drinks at a local tavern, or even being able to sell beer at a convenience or grocery store, must get a license through the municipality where the business is located. Much like RV registrations, the licenses all expire on the same day and are good for two years, meaning someone getting a job in May of the renewal year will have to immediately reapply, and pay a new fee, to renew it in June.
In most communities this process requires going to the village or town hall during working hours, filling out several pages of forms, paying a fee, providing a color copy of your driver’s license and making sure there is a notary around to attest that you actually signed the form. If they get transferred to fill their store’s vacancy in another municipality, they have to go through the whole process again.
For tavern and restaurant owners, there is even more paperwork and more forms that have to be manually filled out, more copies of documents to send and an even higher fee.
On the municipality’s side, clerks then must go through all the paperwork to make sure everything is in order and nothing is missed. When that is all done, local boards go through and approve or deny the completed applications. This last step is often a formality because statutes provide only narrow reasons for why a license may be denied.
Rather than sending out reams of forms that have to be filled out by hand, and increasing the likelihood of data entry errors, Wisconsin should utilize commonplace technology to allow for statewide electronic filing of liquor and operator licenses tied to the businesses’ tax identification number or the operator’s Social Security Number. For those renewing the licenses, once they login, the information should be pre-filled out from data already provided requiring it only be reviewed and changes noted.
Anyone who has made an online purchase could easily navigate such a system, with it letting people know instantly if they were missing documents or forgot to check a required field.
These systems are in place in other states such as Illinois, which has had an online system for several years.
Streamlining the liquor and operator license application through a state online portal would save both businesses and local taxpayers time and money. Rather than keeping outdated, artificial barriers to commerce in place, Wisconsin needs to embrace technology and make it easier for business owners and workers to keep their doors open.
