Wednesday, April 28, 2004
A vote on the bill by the full House could come next week.
By JEFF ORTEGA
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
COLUMBUS -- A bill that would permit tailgating sports fans to consume alcohol in closed-off portions of university- or professional athletic team-owned premises is advancing in the Ohio Legislature.
On Tuesday, the House State Government Committee overwhelmingly approved the measure, sponsored by state Rep. Kenneth A. Carano of Austintown, D-59th, on an 11-1 vote, committee chairman Jim Carmichael said.
Carmichael, a Wooster Republican, said state Rep. Gary Cates, R-West Chester, cast the lone no vote. A vote before the full House could come next week.
Under the bill, an F-7 liquor permit would be established to allow the consumption of open containers of alcohol on restricted areas of university or private property.
The restricted area must be enclosed by a fence or some other barrier, and security personnel must watch over the entrance to ensure that people don't leave the area with open containers of alcohol.
The bill does not propose to permit the sale of alcohol on the premises, and universities would not be mandated to apply for the permits, the bill says.
How it started
Carano has said he introduced the bill after news reports last fall pointed out there was a rule on the books in Ohio banning open containers of alcohol on public parking lots.
Publicity over the apparently little-known rule had made some officials at Youngstown State University, near Carano's House district, nervous, leading to the bill.
But the bill has drawn opposition from Ohio State University, the state's largest university, because of the potential drain on public safety forces to police the tailgate areas and the additional costs for fencing, signs and other equipment.