Even with liquor rules reversed, lawsuit moves forward

Plaintiff says, ‘It’s always been about the manner in which they made these changes’

A lawsuit against the Liquor Control Commission's handling of controversial rule changes will be heard in 2nd Circuit Court today as nonprofit organizations continue to press the commission to loosen stringent requirements for single-event licenses imposed earlier this year.

The hearing will take place before Judge Rhonda Loo at 8:15 a.m. Tuesday in Courtroom 1.

Kihei resident Madge Schaefer and the Committee for Responsible Liquor Control, who filed the lawsuit, contend that the county Liquor Control Department and Commission did not properly notify the public before making changes that allowed 24-hour liquor sales, removed a cap on the number of hostess bars and allowed home delivery of alcohol. Schaefer also says the department and commission were not forthcoming with explanations in the weeks that followed.

Even though the commission reversed its decision July 12, Schaefer said she and the committee still take issue with the way the changes were handled.

"It's always been about the manner in which they made these changes," Schaefer said Monday. "The content was important, certainly. But the issue in the lawsuit is simply that they didn't follow the rules for changing rules."

Schaefer founded the committee, which she said is made up of about a half-dozen members representing social service agencies, churches and veterans groups. They filed the lawsuit in May and later expanded it to include changes to nonprofit single-event license rules, which the commission will look into during its meeting at 9 a.m. Wednesday in the David Trask Building in Wailuku.

On the same day that it rolled back the rules on 24-hour liquor sales, the commission also loosened requirements for nonprofits seeking one-day liquor licenses for fundraisers. Instead of requiring background checks for all nonprofit board members, the checks would be limited to the executive director and a nonprofit officer. Other changes included allowing lists of auction items to be submitted four weeks in advance instead of six, though groups must sign an affidavit stating that no liquor or other prohibited items will be sold.

"While we appreciate what they have done so far, we feel that they didn't go far enough," Cassandra Abdul, executive director of Na Hale O Maui, said Monday. "The nonprofits feel very strongly that it's not appropriate for them to be required to go through all of this fingerprinting and background checks."

Maui County Council Member Yuki Lei Sugimura and local nonprofits prepared a proposal that asks the commission to do away with background checks for directors and nonprofit officers, provided that they follow state and county rules and haven't had a license revoked. The nonprofits also would submit an affidavit confirming that officers have not been convicted of any felonies.

Sugimura said Monday that she didn't have a position on whether the background checks for a director and nonprofit officer were excessive but said she sent the proposal to the commission to make sure it would be placed on Wednesday's agenda.

"We're just asking the liquor department to be reasonable and fair," she said. "They're only having an event to up to three days, and it's usually only one day. It's not like you need to scrutinize them in terms of being a full-on liquor store or restaurant that's open 365 days a year."

Abdul and Debbie Cabebe, president of the Maui Nonprofit Directors Association, said that nonprofits have liability insurance as well as for directors and officers. They added that there haven't been any incidents recently that could have triggered the need for background checks.

"There's a lot of accountability in place, and it's totally unnecessary," said Cabebe, who's also the chief executive officer of Maui Economic Opportunity. "As much as I appreciate (the commission) compromising, I still don't understand the necessity."

Abdul and Cabebe pointed out that it's not board members or directors who serve the liquor.

"We only need the license in order to be able to serve alcohol and hire a bartender who is licensed," Abdul said. "The board absolutely does not serve alcohol. . . . That's why it's a little confusing why they want to place that responsibility where it's really not appropriate."

None of the other Hawaii counties require background checks for single-event liquor licenses for nonprofit organizations.

The department also has made proposals of its own regarding applications for special liquor licenses for fundraising events. One change would allow the commission to streamline application procedures, "including but not limited to, waiving of hearing, notarization of documents, criminal history records check and personal history statements."

The department also is considering doing away with rules "that limit the amount of liquor that can be offered, sold or served during a set period of time, or for a fixed price," which the nonprofits endorse. Abdul and Cabebe said the two-drink limit doesn't make sense for events such as a wine tasting, and that it's difficult to enforce.

"I've been at a function where I was sitting at table of 10, two people were drinking and everybody passed tickets on to those people," Abdul said.

Deputy Director Mark Honda declined to comment Monday on both the nonprofits' proposal and the department's own proposal.

* Colleen Uechi can be reached at cuechi@mauinews.com.