A proposal introduced to the City Council Tuesday night sought to significantly stiffen the current laws governing keg distribution in Madison.
Ald. Paul Skidmore, District 9, told the Wisconsin State Journal he made this proposal to get \a handle on using [beer] legally and responsibly.""
The proposal, which was referred to smaller city committees for further debate, would increase identification requirements. Buyers would have to show more than one form of ID, sign sworn statements that assert the buyer will not allow people under 21 to consume alcohol and reveal the address of where the beer will be consumed.
Madison Police Captain Jay Langfeld told the Wisconsin State Journal the MPD has not formed an opinion on the proposal, but said ""being able to identify kegs would be helpful.""
In addition to the strict requirements placed on the buyer, each keg would contain an identification tag that cannot be removed unless the Madison Police Department is informed of the removal. The penalty for removing a tag or failure of the seller to place a tag on the keg would garner a $500 forfeiture.
""I think this is an absurd proposal,"" said UW-Madison senior Chris Miotke. ""It's a big inconvenience to do the paperwork and it's not even going to curb underage drinking. People are just going to start drinking more hard alcohol and buying more cans of beer. There's going to be more wop parties and more cans littered around Madison.""
Skidmore told the Wisconsin State Journal that ""the proposal is aimed directly at curbing underage drinking parties associated with the Mifflin Street Block Party and Halloween on State Street.""
""There are other problems in the city to worry about,"" Miotke said. ""For this proposal to be aimed at only two specific parties is just ridiculous.""
