The High Price of a Montana Liquor License; S.C. Gov. Hits Trump up for $5 Billion for Infrastructure
Connecting state and local government leaders
Also in our State and Local Daily Digest: Utah’s public lands agenda upsets outdoorsmen; Baltimore City Council reverses course on minimum wage; a two-year review of Ohio’s transparency efforts
LIQUOR LAWS | There are questions in Montana over whether the state’s quota system for licenses to sell alcohol is fair. The system dates back to the post-Prohibition era of the 1930s and was intended to restrict the amount of alcoholic beverage sales in the state. These days, limited supply and high demand have the licenses fetching high prices on the secondary market. Of the more than 40 that were bought and sold in the last five years in Gallatin County, the average price was $320,000 and the highest price $800,000. [Bozeman Daily Chronicle]
INFRASTRUCTURE | South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster asked President Trump in a letter sent Monday for $5 billion in federal funds to repair roads in the state and deepen the port of Charleston. The ask comes as lawmakers in South Carolina’s House prepare to consider a proposal to raise the state’s gas tax by 10 cents per gallon. [The State]
PUBLIC LANDS | Organizers of a massive, twice-yearly outdoor retailer show that’s been held in Salt Lake City for two decades are soliciting proposals for a new location. The move follows protests from some leaders within the industry over Utah’s public lands policy agenda. "The overriding theme," said Amy Roberts, executive director of the Outdoor Industry Association, "is a disagreement over keeping public lands public, and we really see that as a foundational issue for our industry." [Salt Lake Tribune]
MINIMUM WAGE | Most of Baltimore City Council, 11 out of 15 members, supports an increase in the minimum wage to $15—including President Bernard C. “Jack” Young. Young assisted the narrow defeat of the increase last year, but five of eight newly elected council members are for it, tipping the scales. [The Baltimore Sun]
SCHOOLS | Indiana’s Senate Elections Committee voted to replace the independently elected state superintendent of public instruction with a governor-appointed education leader, a move Gov. Eric Holcomb is thought to favor. [The Times of Northwest Indiana]
TRANSPARENCY | The OhioCheckbook.com financial transparency website, rolled out by state Treasurer Josh Mandel, just turned two and now boasts more than 1,000 local governments and schools having put their spending information online. [Progress Newspaper]
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