A leading Senate Democrat said Gov. Phil Murphy’s push to expand the availability of liquor licenses for restaurants and bars has won little support from lawmakers, threatening to doom the administration’s efforts to retool the state’s Prohibition-era liquor laws.
“I think the governor’s proposal to expand liquor licenses does not have a lot of support in the Legislature,” Sen. Paul Sarlo (D-Bergen), chair of the chamber’s budget committee, said during a hearing of the panel Tuesday.
Under a bill unveiled last month, New Jersey would begin a six-year phase-out of its liquor license limits — which allow municipalities to issue one retail consumption license for every 3,000 residents — while lifting restrictions imposed on breweries and wineries operating under a different type of license. Read more from New Jersey Monitor.