Budget reform panel recommends tightening control on liquor boards (News and Observer)
Gov. Bev Perdue’s budget reform commission on Wednesday recommended tightening the state control and regulation on local liquor stores.
The panel voted to send Perdue a set of proposals that would make major shifts in how Alcoholic Beverage Control Boards operate, Mark Johnson reports. The initiatives, though, will have to be meshed with similar legislation that lawmakers took up at a committee meeting 30 minutes after the budget commission’s vote.
“It’ll put the focus on efficiency and ethics for the local boards,” said state ABC Chair Jon Williams after the vote.
The dual-track push for reform grew out of embarrassing revelations about ABC board spending and salaries in Charlotte and Wilmington respectively.
The budget commission’s recommendations included:
— Giving the state ABC Commission the authority to audit local boards and close underperforming stores.
— Establishing a mission and performance standards for liquor stores.
— Limiting the compensation of ABC board members and store operators.
— Subjecting local ABC board members to the state ethics act.
Submitted by bniolet on 2010-05-05 14:15
