Whiskey Wednesday

Happy Hour Action Item

Holy Shit! I leave the state for a few days and the Oklahoma Legislature outlaws happy hour!
Yep, I thought it was a joke too. It was in the Tulsa World on Tuesday. But who reads the Tulsa World... It's called Senate Bill 518. It was passed unanimously and is headed for Gov. Henry's desk.
The idea is this will reduce underage drinking and binge drinking among barely-legal drinkers. Yeh, right... Effectively bars must charge full price for 3.2 beer at all times. No happy hour, no buckets, no ladies nights, no beer busts, no coin beer nights... full price, all the time. Here's the link to the final version of the bill:

http://www2.lsb.state.ok.us/2005%2D06sb/sb518%5Fenr.rtf

From my standpoint, this is BAD for Oklahoma and is just the latest of many reasons for young professionals to flee the state or never come here in the first place. Further, this has to be horrible news for bars and restaurants. Many depend on happy hour and such special events to drive sales. So, let's make it more difficult for these folks to keep the doors open -- that's a GREAT idea! That's exactly what an economically depressed state should do!
Plus, the topper, this will have absolutely ZERO effect on consumption. How could legislators be stupid enough to think this kind of thing would work. Surely, they would not have to look very far to learn that this type of legislation never works. But then Oklahoma lawmakers seem to always prefer to muddle about with the minutia rather than address the state's real problems.


If you'd like to send Gov. Henry a message, here's the link:

http://www.governor.state.ok.us/message.php

OR:
Office of Governor Brad Henry
State Capitol Building
2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Room 212
Oklahoma City, OK 73105

Telephone: (405) 521-2342
Fax: (405) 521-3353

posted by ThomG @ 12:24:00 PM