IMPORTANT: Liquor Licensing Updates at the State Level
On Saturday, the MA State House of representatives began debating a recent amendment that was made by Representative Linda Dorcena Forry to House Bill S.2430 to include Boston in the conversation of giving control of the number of liquor licenses to each city in Massachusetts rather than continue with dictated cap on the number of licenses available via the state.
This amendment was made by Rep Forry and has been supported by Mayor Marty Walsh and the office of Councillor Ayanna Pressley.
The bill was previously put forward by Governor Charlie Baker to advocate for the control of liquor licenses to be set by city municipalities, but the bill specifically cited that Boston would be excluded from this power shift.
Last week, Rep. Mike Moran’s office put out an email to his colleagues asking for their support in the rejection of Rep. Forry’s amendment.
Please take note of his email at the bottom of this post.
We want to encourage everyone to contact your city and state representatives to support the amendment made by Rep. Forry in order to lift the cap on the number of licenses available via the state and allow the city of Boston to have control over the number of available licenses.
We believe that lifting the cap will shine some light on this process and cater heavily to the economic uplift of our communities.
Including Boston in his legislation is not only fair. But it is a key to economic growth in Boston’s most depressed neighborhoods.
If you are getting caught up on this conversation and process, please be sure to take a moment to review the history of the conversation about liquor licensing within Boston — its root history, how the conversation has developed since 2014 & the release of 75 new licenses, and what will happen come September 2016 (when the last round of licenses will be made available to the public).
Again please contact your reps with your sentiments about this amendment and the impact that it can have on the overall economic health and well being of our communities.
Here are a few links for your background knowledge and review:
Note: Rep. Mike Moran’s letter of opposition.
Subject: Sign on request: S.2430 An Act modernizing municipal finance and government
Dear Colleagues,
I respectfully ask for your consideration to sign on to the attached letter opposing the language in S.2430 An Act modernizing municipal finance and government that make changes to section 17 of chapter 138 of the General Laws as it pertains to the granting of liquor licenses in the City of Boston. These changes, if adopted, would allow the City of Boston to determine the number of liquor licenses in the city without legislative approval.
If you would like to sign on, please reply to this email or contact Brian Rielly on my staff at extension 8665 or brian.rielly@mahouse.gov by Friday, July 22, 2016 at 12 PM.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
MIKE
Michael Moran
State Representative
Eighteenth Suffolk District
