Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services

The Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control is a general policymaking body for the control of alcohol. The commission regulates issues dealing with the purchase, sale, storage, service, manufacturing, distribution and consumption of alcohol. They control the merchandise list inventory as well as cost. The commission is also responsible for determining the number of liquor stores, the policies of the stores and the location. They also issue, grant, deny, suspend, or revoke permits for: package agencies; restaurant licenses; airport lounge licenses; private club licenses; on-premise beer retailer licenses; special use permits; single event permits; manufacturing licenses; and beer wholesaling licenses. In short, the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control manages the alcohol industry within the State.

The Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission is composed of seven part-time commissioners appointed by the governor with the consent of the Senate (Utah Code 32B-2-201). The commissioners are appointed for four-year terms. The terms are staggered so that members are appointed and vacate at various times. The commission elects one member to be chair and one member to be vice-chair. The commissioners, with the governor's approval, appoint a director who holds the position until retirement or discharged by the commissioners. The director is the administrative head of the department.

In 2012, S.B. 66 increased the number of commissioners from five to seven (Laws of Utah, 2012, chapter 365).