Move forward on minibottles

e-mail this story discuss this issue in our forums

State Sen. Phil Leventis, D-Sumter, earlier this week tried to block a bill that would do away with minibottles in South Carolina bars, according to an Associated Press story. But on Friday, Leventis pledged that he would not use the filibuster or any other parliamentary maneuver to prevent the bill from becoming law.

Leventis should abide by that pledge, and senators should act quickly to dump minibottles. The House already has done its duty, voting to allow bartenders in the state to pour liquor from larger bottles rather than using minibottles. It's up to the state Senate to follow suit. Then the issue would go before the voters, who, it is hoped, will finish the job in a November referendum.

The bill approved by the House would not ban minibottles but would allow bars to use larger bottles and the so-called free-pour system. Bars are almost certain to use the larger bottles, which will boost their bottom line.

South Carolina currently remains the only state in the nation that requires bartenders to use minibottles when making mixed drinks. That gives this Bible belt state the strongest mixed drinks in the nation.

Bartenders are required to empty the entire contents of a minibottle into a mixed drink. As a result, the drink contains 1.7 ounces of liquor. (Drinks that require more than one liquor will be even more intoxicating.) In every other state in the nation, however, bartenders most often pour from larger bottles. Those drinks usually contain 1 ounce to 1.25 ounces of alcohol.

That means drinks here most often are significantly stronger than mixed drinks anywhere else in the nation. South Carolina also has the highest rate of drunken-driving fatalities in the nation, and it's not hard to detect a connection between minibottles and highway deaths.

Leventis says he intends to continue arguing against the bill. He claims the state will lose $3.6 million in tax collections if the bill goes forward. But a state Board of Economic Advisors report says the change actually will generate an extra $172,000 in tax collections.

The reality is that it's hard to predict whether the state will lose or gain money in liquor tax collections. But if state revenues do fall, the Legislature can and should quickly adjust liquor taxes to make sure there's no loss in collections.

Leventis says he sees no groundswell of public support for changing the minibottle law. That may be true, but the public's disengagement from the issue doesn't undermine the strong arguments for getting rid of minibottles. As a matter of public health and safety, advocates agree minibottles are a menace. They need to go.