Malek: Reform liquor license system

It’s time to reform the restrictive liquor license system that’s left some Idaho restaurants on waiting lists for years and driven the price of a liquor license in Coeur d’Alene up to $300,000, Coeur d’Alene Rep. Luke Malek said Friday. Malek introduced legislation to set up a new two-tiered system in which cities or counties could choose to grant non-transferable liquor licenses to restaurants that have full kitchens and a state beer and wine license. Those new licenses would carry much higher fees than current liquor licenses, and would come with more restrictions, including stepped-up requirements for training servers/ Betsy Russell , Eye on Boise. More here .