Lawmaker stalls dozens of contracts in Alabama liquor board dispute: ‘Classic bureaucrat double speak’

An Alabama lawmaker on Thursday temporarily put on hold dozens of state agency contracts because of what he said were delays by the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board to implement a law passed in 2023.

Sen. Chris Elliott, a Republican from Baldwin County, said the bill, which he sponsored, was intended to allow employees at businesses that serve liquor to complete the ABC Board’s Responsible Vendor Program online.

Elliott said the ABC Board has not adopted the rules to allow the online training.

A spokesman for the ABC Board said online training is already taking place.

But Elliott disputed that and said the ABC Board’s rules contradict the 2023 law.

“It’s very frustrating for the Legislature, an entire branch of government, to be ignored by the bureaucracy,” Elliott said.

“We’ve passed this piece of legislation. We have communicated with the ABC Board about what the legislative intent was, communicated by phone call or in person, in writing what the intent was.

“And some 18 months later, we still have no rules promulgated by the bureaucracy that is charged with doing it,” Elliott said.

Elliott released a copy of a letter he wrote to the ABC Board in September. The letter said the 2023 law was intended to remove barriers for businesses to participate in the Responsible Vendor Program.

Elliott‘s comments came at Thursday’s meeting of the Legislature’s contract review committee. The committee, which meets monthly, reviews state agency contracts and asks representatives of the agencies questions.

Any member of the committee can delay contracts for up to 45 days. But the committee cannot permanently block or kill a contract.

The ABC Board did not have any contracts on the committee’s agenda on Thursday. Elliott said he put a hold on all the other agencies’ contracts to put pressure on the ABC Board to implement the law.

Dean Argo, manager of government relations and communications for the ABC Board, issued a statement in response to Elliott’s comments.

Argo said online training for the Responsible Vendor Program is allowed and has been taking place for some time.

“The 2023 law by Sen. Chris Elliott did not require the ABC Board to promulgate rules or change any existing rules,” Argo said.

“A private association approached the ABC Board three months ago and requested that several rules regarding the online training presentation be clarified to benefit its members.

“The ABC Board agreed to do (so) because the clarifications did not impact whether or not online training was offered. However, there was disagreement over how incorrect answers offered online were processed.”

Argo said the ABC Board plans to consider the rule change at its meeting next week.

“During its regularly scheduled meeting on October 17, 2024, the Board asked staff for some additional research on what other states are doing regarding online RVP Training,” Argo said. “The proposed rule modification is on next week’s (November 14, 2024) agenda.”

Elliott said Argo’s statement was misleading.

“The statement from the ABC Board is the type of classic bureaucrat double speak that frustrates small business owners and their representatives alike,” Elliott said in an email.

Elliott cited an ABC rule that says: “The format of the course of instruction shall include face-to-face training and question and answer opportunities.”

“This is obviously not conducive to online training,” Elliott said. “To say otherwise is just wrong.”

Sen. Billy Beasley, D-Clayton, a member of the Contract Review Committee, opposed Elliott’s decision to hold up all the contracts.

“I think it’s unfair to the agencies that come here and present their case and have a blanket objection to any of the contracts being approved,” Beasley said.

“I’d like to move that we rescind the senator from Baldwin County’s request. If he wants to object and hold ABC, that’s his prerogative. But I don’t think we need to hold everybody else.”

Rep. Chris Pringle, R-Mobile, said he understood Beasley’s point. But Pringle said the committee has always operated under the rules that one lawmaker could hold contracts without consent from other members.

“One member does have a right to hold every contract,” Pringle said. “And that’s just kind of the way this committee works.”

Elliott said his purpose is to put pressure on the ABC Board to implement the 2023 law. He said he would lift his hold on contracts when the board adopts the rules for the law.

“I’m hoping that this fairly dramatic step here will get their attention,” Elliott said. “And I’m hoping to provide a little bit more incentive to them and pressure all the people in this room to deal with this issue as they should.

“This has been something that’s been going on for months and months. We pass laws and the governor signs them, and we expect them to be enacted by the executive branch.”

The Alabama Responsible Vendor Program is a voluntary program for licensees that sell and serve alcohol. To be certified, businesses must train all employees who sell and serve alcoholic beverages on topics such as Alabama liquor laws, legal age determination, civil and criminal penalties, and risk reducing techniques.

“Obviously, I represent an area that‘s very heavy in the restaurant and hospitality world, they want to have more people responsibly trained to be servers,” said Elliott, whose district includes Baldwin County’s Gulf Coast beaches. “That’s a good thing for them. It’s a good thing for their insurance.

“And so why the ABC board is not moving forward on this, I don’t know. I’m thinking they’re going to get the message after today.”

The contract review agenda included 60 contracts with a total cost of about $80 million.