Commercial hot air balloon rides in the state of Washington have just
gotten more difficult. Tradition, business, the Washington State Liquor
Control Board (WSLCB), and the Revised Code of Washington (RCW) have all
collided together and it looks like tradition will suffer. Commercial
balloon companies that include champagnes at the conclusion of their flight
are now being required to possess a Class C liquor license in order to
serve wine. The yearly license carries a $150 fee.
The whole thing has Jay Woodward, from Kirkland-based Balloon Depot, hopping mad. He's examined the true cost of getting the license and maintains, "It's more than a $150 fee. If you get a state license, the federal government comes in," with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF), "and wants a $250 permit for every location you land!" The WSLCB and ATF, "Also requires unlimited access to my books," and expects Woodward to keep separate records from his regular balloon business.
Woodward complains that expenses continue to build from a new state requirement, effective January 1, 1997, that requires all employees who serve alcohol to attend a certification class at a cost, "Between $30-100 bucks with $40-60 being the norm." Competition accounts for the price differential as a host of private companies all vie for students. The reasoning behind this rule is to hold servers, no matter where they work, responsible and accountable, not just the owners, for serving too many drinks. Not a problem in Woodward's business.
Woodward has felt the pinch of enforcement from the WSLCB. "It's more than a nuisance fee. It keeps me from doing that part of my business." Add to that, he's been threatened with jail, he says, if he continues to operate without a liquor license. "I didn't appreciate their attitude at all."
In a profession such as this, where overhead is high and profits are slim, what is a business to do? If you're Jay Woodward, you switch to non-alcoholic champagnes. If you're Marilyn Harvey, from Aerial Balloon Company in Snohomish, you bite the bullet and get the license. In a recent newspaper article in Seattle's Post-Intelligencer, Harvey says the license requirement, "Irritates me!" In the same story, Bill Starr, who owns Woodinville's Over the Rainbow Balloons, says he has contracted with a local catering company to serve the traditional champagnes at their facility after his balloon flights.
Mandy Johnson, who owns Auburn-based Go Lightly, says, "We haven't been contacted yet," by the WSLCB, "and don't push the wine thing," because, "most of our customers ask for cider anyway." If they have to get license, they'll go non-alcohol. "We don't do as much business as the others to warrant the hassle."
At first glace, one wonders if the WSLCB is trying to make up budget shortfalls from the orgy of tax cutting sanctioned by a Democrat governor and performed by a Republican-controlled legislature. The thought amuses Johnson. "I don't know if it's that, or if it's a new person trying to make a name for himself or what. If it's a budget thing, they're being very unrealistic. We serve a Dixie cup amount of wine. How much tax can you get from that?" Woodward agrees. "If they're looking for fee enhancement, they shot themselves in the foot." He used to buy 100-150 cases of champagnes each year but, "I'm not going to buy it anymore."
So, what about enforcement? Woodward again: "What I find interesting; they don't seem to be enforcing it (the liquor license requirement) throughout the entire balloon community. Why pick on me? The claim of one agent is they were responding to a complaint but he wouldn't elaborate on that at all."
According to Richard Manoli, senior agent with the WSLCB, they got a citizen complaint two years ago about newspaper advertisements for free champagnes on balloon rides. He says, "We don't even allowretail licensees to advertise free alcohol." Though WSLCB assumes balloon companies have been operating without a liquor license for years, "We don't go out looking for that kind of stuff."
Jesse Baker, also with WSLCB, maintains, "Our particular point of view is we want to educate people as to why the law is there, not to bear down heavily on enforcement. We try to make the community aware of the requirements and clear up any misunderstandings that could be there."
WSLCB's Manoli is very specific about what they ask of commercial balloonists. The Revised Code of Washington (RCW) section 66.24.340 states in part, "There shall be a wine retailers license to be designated as a Class C license, to sell wine at retail for consumption on the premises only...such license to be issued to hotels, restaurants, or dining places on boats and airplanes, clubs and to taverns." He suggests that if the balloon community finds RCW 66.24.340 to be too restrictive, they should encourage the legislature to add a special license category solely for balloonists. This is not unprecedented. "Several years ago, florists got a Class T license made so they could deliver wine and cheese baskets."
The law also directs WSLCB to require companies to not sell alcohol below cost. Invoices for alcohol must be kept separate from all other invoices, though separate record keeping is not necessary. Records must be maintained for two years to satisfy WSLCB though ATF requires you hold onto records for five.
And to avoid any other misunderstandings or confusion, Manoli suggests the following for companies offering balloon rides. If you advertise, be specific that patrons under the age of twenty-one are not allowed to drink. Don't advertise "free" champagnes. The Washington State Liquor Control Board will review ads for free. And finally, if you are going to serve champagnes at the end of a commercial flight in the state of Washington, get your Class C liquor license. Other states may have similar requirements.
