Legislation

Good article in southcoasttoday about fake ID’s going “high-tech,” and the difficulty law enforcement and local business owners have in discerning which ID’s are fake. Businesses may want to consider buying a machine that can read the license and help determine whether it is legitimate.

West Tisbury diners on Martha’s Vineyard could soon be sipping beer and wine in a popular vacation spot that has long banned the sale of alcohol. Residents of West Tisbury, a “dry” island community on Martha’s Vineyard, hope to decide at Town Meeting if restaurants there will be permitted to serve beer and wine with […]

Starting on June 1, some bars, nightclubs, and discos will be required to follow a new state fire safety regulation, 527 CMR 10.13, which requires any operator of a bar, night club, discotheque or dance hall that holds more than 100 people to designate what will be known as “crowd managers,” or individuals that are […]

The Dedham Board of Selectmen has approved liquor license brunch provisions for Kings’ Bowling and the Dedham Country and Polo Club. The provision, passed by Massachusetts voters in November 2010, gives restaurants permission to start serving alcohol at 10 a.m. on Sunday if they receive approval from local government. The Dedham Country and Polo Club […]

Good piece in Wine Spectator about corkage laws, and whether it makes sense for more states to allow people to “BYOB.” Massachusetts is one of the states that permits BYOB and corkage only at establishments that do not have their own liquor license.

The Lexington Farmers’ Market (LFM) is seeking to take advantage of new legislation, recently signed by Gov. Deval Patrick, that allows the sale of wine at approved agricultural events in Massachusetts. On Monday, Feb. 7, Market Manager Deb Jackson presented the Board of Selectmen with a proposal for a liquor license, which would permit local […]

State Representative Alice Peisch filed legislation this week (HD 2759), which would amend the state’s outdated laws from the 1970s that make it impossible for small brewers to switch distributors. Brewers are required to use distributors — but if the distributor fails to get their products in front of consumers, there’s little that brewers can […]