A new report on the county’s Department of Liquor Control floats the idea of privatizing all alcohol sales in Montgomery County, kickstarting a debate on the future of the county’s unique “control” model.
The Office of Legislative Oversight released the report on Tuesday with five recommendations for the future of the county government’s involvement in the alcohol business.
Unlike nearly every other “control” jurisdiction, Montgomery County purchases its alcohol inventory from manufacturers, stores it in the Department of Liquor Control’s Gaithersburg warehouse and then resells the products via direct delivery to beer and wine retail stores and restaurants.
Past reports have criticized that system as inefficient and disjointed. Some county leaders have questioned the idea of having a DLC at all.
The OLO report includes five ideas for the future of alcohol sales in the county, including eradicating the DLC and keeping the DLC with internal changes:
· Deregulating the County’s alcohol control system, including the wholesale distribution and retail sale of beer, wine and liquor. Most other Maryland counties have deregulated alcohol operations and sales.
· Permitting private wholesalers to distribute beer, wine and liquor to alcoholic beverage licensees. The County would continue to control the off-premises retail sale of liquor.
· Allowing the private wholesale distribution of beer and wine. The County would continue to control the wholesale and off-premises retail sale of liquor.
· Permitting the private wholesale distribution of special order beer and wine products. The County would continue to control the wholesale and retail sales for all other alcohol products.
· Enhancing the effectiveness of DLC while maintaining the current liquor control structure. This includes adopting recommendations as part of DLC’s long-range strategic business plan.
An ad hoc Council committee will take up the issue with a series of worksessions starting Feb. 27. The group, chaired by Hans Riemer with Marc Elrich and George Leventhal, has its own website.
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