Fee Hike Eyed for Liquor Licenses

Commissioners' Support Sought For Calvert Bills

Two bills, one being drafted and one introduced in the Maryland General Assembly, would double fees for beer, wine and liquor licenses in Calvert County.

The legislation, requested by the Calvert County Liquor Board, also would raise license fees for restaurant and bar owners who want to stay open until 2 a.m., and would create a $300 license to allow liquor stores to have more than 12 wine tastings per year.

Also included is an increase in the annual stipend paid to members of the liquor board.

"To the best of my knowledge, there have been no legislative changes [to Calvert's liquor laws] for the past 25 years," Marshall Gibson, chairman of the liquor board, said at Tuesday's regular meeting of the Calvert County commissioners. He asked them to support the bills.

"This is not something we would enact," Commissioners President Wilson H. Parran (D-Huntingtown) said. "The state would enact this." He said the commissioners would pass on their comments to state legislators.

Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert) and Sen. Roy P. Dyson (D-St. Mary's) are co-sponsoring the bill introduced in their chamber.

In the House, the measure is to be introduced by the end of this week. "We have a bill drafted. It has all the support of the entire delegation," said Del. Sue Kullen (D-Calvert). She said she will file the bill once she receives the county commissioners' blessing.

"It is just a way of ensuring everyone is on the same page," she said. "We didn't want a fight in Annapolis on something we can easily fix back home."

Most of what the liquor board has requested was endorsed Tuesday by the commissioners. Commissioner Barbara A. Stinnett (D-At Large) was the sole dissenting vote on the fee portion of the proposal, calling the increases "a very significant jump."

Restaurants and bars now pay $1,000 annually for a license to serve beer, wine and liquor. The board proposed raising that fee to $1,250 if the establishment closes at midnight and to $2,250 if it is open until 2 a.m.

Del. Anthony J. O'Donnell (R-Calvert), the House minority leader, questioned the liquor board's figures. "For those few extra hours of operation, you are paying a heck of a license increase," he said.

Gary Armstrong, owner of CLUCK-U Chicken in Dunkirk, agreed with O'Donnell. "These are small-business owners that have to put out a lot of money in order to be successful. . . . It is already hard enough," he said.