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SALT LAKE CITY — The possibility of Utah's blood alcohol limit being lowered from 0.08 to 0.05 is making headlines once again.
HB155 passed with a 17-12 vote in the Senate on the second to last day of the 2017 Legislature. It previously passed in the House, 48-26.
Recently, full-page ads taken out in the Deseret News and the Salt Lake Tribune hint that Utah's tourism industry and restaurants will lose money.
Not everyone thinks the ads are a laughing matter; for them, it's serious business.
With March Madness in full swing, fans are swarming to Salt Lake City. On Thursday, Squatters Pub was one of the city's busiest spots.
"Business is great," said Doug Hofeling with Salt Lake Brewing Company. "We are a craft brewery, and people come here to try our extremely great beers all the time."
As COO, Hofeling helps run the place, and a big part of his job is looking to the future, which is why he's become a board member of the Salt Lake Restaurant Association.
"We're pretty new on the scene, but basically we advocate for the interests of the restaurants and bars here in the Salt Lake area," he said.
The group has found an ally in the form of the American Beverage Institute based in Washington, D.C. The group paid for the full-page ads in the local papers.
"I did see those, yeah," Hofeling said when asked about the ads. "It was definitely a knife twist."
The ads are a tongue-in-cheek note from one of Utah's biggest tourism competitors and a strike to the core of a problem that's been brewing for some time.
"Dear Utah," Hofeling read from the ad. "Haven't seen you in a while. Wyoming keeps getting between us."
"Sincerely, Colorado," Hofeling read. He's worried lowering the legal blood-alcohol limit will make tourists think twice about coming to Utah.
"Any convention that says, 'I don't know what's going on in Utah,'" Hofeling said. "'I don't think I can get a drink out there. I don't think it's the right place to go.' It is money our of all our pockets and money out of the economy of Utah."
While Squatters may be packed now, Hofeling wonders if Gov. Gary Herbert signs the bill into law, whether his restaurants could see empty seats.
"Nothing is done until it's done," he said. "Hope springs eternal, and we're going to fight the good fight."
The Salt Lake Restaurant Association will hold a rally at the Utah State Capitol rotunda to urge Gov. Herbert to veto the bill. The rally begins Friday at noon.
