Iowa: Iowa’s bizarre booze laws may make you a criminal

Source: The Des Moines Register

Editorial Board

October 18, 2017

In Iowa, you could be a bootlegger and not even know it.

If you bring back a couple of bottles of zinfandel from a California winery, or even from an Omaha supermarket, you may be committing a serious misdemeanor.

If you vacation in Wisconsin and return with a case of New Glarus Brewing’s Spotted Cow ale – popular but sold only in that state – you could end up, theoretically, in the hoosegow.

But if you import four liters of tequila from your trip to Mexico? No problem.

Such is the bizarre state of Iowa’s alcohol laws. Last week, the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division sent out an education bulletin clarifying that “only alcoholic liquor can be personally imported” – up to one liter from another state or four liters from another country.

But beer and wine, even if it’s consumed only in your home? No, according to the division’s interpretation.

Beer and wine are not expressly mentioned in the law on importation and do not fit the definition of liquor, said Stephanie Strauss with the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division. She said the division sent out the bulletin because it has received questions about the law, including from returning members of the military.

A serious misdemeanor is punishable by up to one year in jail and a fine of between $315 and $1,875.

Whether the law is ever enforced is beside the point. It certainly could be and make criminals out of unsuspecting shoppers. Why have it on the books?

Strauss said the division has brought the law to the Legislature’s attention in the past, but nothing was done.

Fortunately, state officials and lawmakers have shown an interest in reforming Iowa’s backward and byzantine booze laws. In 2015, the Register highlighted many of the problems with the alcohol laws – in particular those that harm local distillers – and the opposition to change from the powerful Iowa Wholesale Beer Distributors Association. Last year, then-Gov. Terry Branstad ordered a review of the state’s alcohol laws in an effort to remedy some of those disparities, and a group of stakeholders issued its recommendations this year.

The Legislature then passed, and Branstad signed, a bill with changes, including allowing Iowa’s craft liquor distillers to mix cocktails at their manufacturing facilities. That helps level the playing field with craft breweries and wineries, which could already serve customers on site.

But there’s more work to be done. A second working group – led by Stephen Larson, administrator of the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division, and Roxann Ryan, commissioner of the Iowa Department of Public Safety – includes city and county officials, law enforcement, public health officials, prevention specialists and businesses.

The group is looking specifically at Iowa’s licensing and permitting laws. The number of outlets selling alcohol have boomed, which can put more demands on police and other local officials. The group is considering whether Iowa should change the types of licenses available, put a quota on the number of licensed outlets, or make other changes. The goal is “properly balancing business needs with the legal and social responsibilities that protect the public.”

Public meetings are Nov. 2 in Davenport, Nov. 30 in Waterloo/Cedar Falls, Dec. 14 in Carroll and Dec. 28 in Des Moines. (All meetings are scheduled from 1 to 4 p.m., and most locations have not been determined. Contact the division for more information.)

At the conclusion of the study, the group will recommend changes to the governor and Legislature.

The importation law is not part of the study, but does it really need to be? The Legislature should quickly pluck that low-hanging fruit off the vine.