Local music fans packed the Oregon Liquor Control
Commission’s (OLCC) drab meeting room last Thursday morning, December
13, in eager anticipation of the monthly commission meeting.
The fire commissioners were slated to consider changes to the rule
regarding minor postings—those signs in bars and venues that lay
out the policy of when minors are or aren’t allowed inside. The new
rule would create a sixth kind of minor posting, which would allow
qualified venues—those that aren’t primarily a place to sit and
drink—to submit a control plan that could let underagers enjoy
the venue’s entertainment if the venue could show “that alcohol and
minors aren’t going to be mixing in an uncontrolled way,” OLCC Rules
Coordinator Jennifer Huntsman explained to the board.
It was the culmination of months of work from all-ages advocates
such as Mercury columnist Cary Clarke, and musicians’ advocates
like Bruce Fife of Musicians’ Union, Local 99, who were on hand to
testify in favor of the rule change.
By noon, their hopes were dashed.
In a 3-2 vote, following two hours of testimony and
often-argumentative questions from the commissioners, the board opted
not to make the change (they did, however, make a tiny tweak to the
existing rule that will allow patrons at venues like symphony halls to
tote their cocktails back to their seats).
The commissioners raised concerns about the OLCC’s ability to
enforce the control plans, despite testimony from Linda Ignowski, the
OLCC’s enforcement and field operations director, who said that the new
rule would give inspectors—who are already popping into these
venues—more authority. “This really has teeth,” she said. “We
have no teeth right now.”
Other commissioners—particularly Bill Flinn, who represents
Eastern Oregon—seemed perplexed on what sort of spaces minors
might be allowed to patronize. Though music advocates and Huntsman made
it clear that places like sports bars, taverns, and drinking-heavy
nightclubs wouldn’t qualify—any place where drinking is the
primary activity still wouldn’t be able to admit minors—Flinn
expressed confusion.
“When you use the word ‘venue,’ what kind of venues are you talking
about?” he asked Clarke during his testimony. The board seemed
unfamiliar with Portland venues such as the ones Clarke cited as
examples where these control plans could work—such as Valentine’s
downtown, and Ground Kontrol in Old Town. Places such as these focus on
smaller music acts, with some alcohol being sold to supplement the
space’s income.
After the hearing, Clarke said it seemed as if the board—with
the exception of Commissioner Bob Rice, who attended public hearings on
the issue—hadn’t done their homework, and didn’t realize the
limited number of venues where the new minor posting might apply.
Indeed, Board Chair Philip Lang chastised music advocates just
before the vote, warning that most current licensees—those with
the strictest kind of minor posting—wouldn’t be able to admit
underagers.
“Seventy-five to 90 percent of [spaces] are probably going to fall
in that category. It’s not going to be the answer you people think it
is,” he said.
There was a small silver lining to the hearing—perhaps swayed
by the amount of passionate public testimony on the issue (hundreds
commented on the issue, with very few opposed), the commissioners
indicated they’d be open to reconsidering the rule change when they
meet again on Valentine’s Day.