Booze Buyers Like Liquor Proposal Ending State-Run Liquor Stores Would Likely Lower Prices

Cost and convenience are two big selling points for Gov. Mike Lowry’s proposal to let private enterprise handle liquor sales in Washington, judging by the reaction of booze buyers.

“I go to Arizona and Reno and prices are about half of what they are here,” said Ken Larsen, a retired bakery salesman from Seattle.

Larsen drinks scotch and thinks the state’s alcohol prices are too high.

“How many millions of dollars of booze do you think comes in from Reno?” he asked. “It cheats the state of Washington.”

Lowry has proposed that the state’s 164 retail liquor stores be auctioned off as franchises by March 1996. The state would remain the sole liquor wholesaler, but its 49 percent markup on alcohol prices would drop to 21 percent and retailers could decide whether to pass on the savings.

During fiscal 1993, the state took in $357.8 million from liquor sales, generating $92.3 million in taxes and $29.6 million in net profit for state, county and city governments.

Lowry’s plan is before the Legislature as Senate Bill 5490.

Lowry’s plan contains at least one sticking point for some lawmakers and businesses: It would require retailers to hire the state’s liquorstore clerks at the same salary and benefits paid by the state.

Sen. Dwight Pelz, D-Seattle, sponsored Lowry’s plan in the Senate but has reservations about it.

“There’s a lot of questions (I’m) hoping to get answers for,” Pelz said, including whether increased availability will lead to increased consumption.

Joe McGavick, chairman of the state Liquor Control Board and author of the privatization plan, dismissed that concern. The plan would add 72 liquor enforcement officers and expand programs to prevent alcohol abuse, he noted.

Rep. Georgette Valle, D-Seattle, has introduced a competing plan in the House, cutting the three-member control board to one full-time director and a part-time board.