"We have a citizens' legislature," said King, who owns the Rockfish restaurant and bar in Eastport. "Doctors deal with health care issues, lawyers deal with the law and some people like myself who own small businesses handle those issues."
Many who have supported bills favored by the liquor industry say they sought to protect Maryland's "three-tier" alcohol distribution system. Here, as in some other states, alcohol is regulated in much the same way it was when Prohibition was repealed in 1933.
In general, alcohol manufacturers must sell their product to distributors, who then sell it to retailers such as bars, restaurants and liquor stores.
House Speaker Michael E. Busch defends the three-tier system, saying it has stopped giant corporations from taking over local bars and breweries, and has helped generate competition.
Busch - an Anne Arundel Democrat who has received about $23,000 in contributions from the industry since 1998, 1.4 percent of the total he has received during that period - says the liquor lobby does not hold undue influence in the legislature.
Still, many lawmakers who have frequently sided with the alcohol lobby say the Byzantine regulations governing the industry should be re-examined.
"I think anybody will tell you Article 2B is a mess," Del. Dereck E. Davis, who chairs a House committee that oversees alcohol regulations, said, referring to the more than 300 pages in Maryland law books that deal with alcohol.
The Prince George's Democrat has said he would introduce a bill creating a task force to study the issue. This week, he backed off that proposal, saying an informal study might be sufficient.
bradley.olson@baltsun.com gadi.dechter@baltsun.com
