Tampa City Council Rejects Proposal to Require Licenses For Serving Liquor After Midnight, Will Try Again

The nanny staters might lose a battle, but
they can always be counted on to keep trying.

From the Tampa Tribune:

In a hail of opposition from business owners, a Tampa
City Council proposal to curb crime by requiring special permits
for alcohol sales after midnight died Thursday morning.

The measure could be reborn with input from a committee of business
owners, neighborhood residents and government officials.

Council Chairman Charlie Miranda called for the community-wide
effort after opposition mounted against the proposal by
Councilwoman Yvonne Yolie Capin for late-night permits.

Council members arrived at Old City Hall on Thursday morning to
find a roomful of angry business owners facing them across the
dais.

Opponents of the proposal spent more than an hour telling council
members the proposal is a threat to their livelihoods. They also
said it would punish well-behaved businesses just to catch a few
bad operators.

The Tribune helpfully noted it wasn’t “clear the people
in the crowd on Thursday understood the finer points of the
proposal,” because, for example, the proposal did not seek to
actually ban bars from staying open after midnight. But for nanny
staters regulations are like Lay’s, you can’t have just one.

Follow these stories and more at Reason 24/7 and don’t forget you
can e-mail stories to us at 24_7@reason.com and tweet us
at @reason247.