BANQUET PERMITS

COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES ‑- INTOXICATING LIQUOR ‑- USE OF LIQUOR ON PUBLIC COLLEGES' AND UNIVERSITIES' CAMPUSES ‑-  BANQUET PERMITS

The passage of House Bill No. 525, pending before the 1975 legislature, would not result in the establishment of a statutory prohibition against the use and consumption of liquor on a college or university campus pursuant to a duly issued banquet permit.

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                                                                  March 10, 1975

Honorable Earl F. Tilly
State Representative, 12th District
Legislative Building
Olympia, Washington 98504                                                                                                                                              Cite as: AGLO 1975 No. 244    

Dear Sir:

            By recent letter you have directed our attention to House Bill No. 525, currently pending before the legislature.  This bill, if enacted in its present form, would amend the provisions of RCW 66.44.190, a part of the state liquor code, so as to cause it to read as follows:

            "It shall be unlawful to sell any intoxicating liquors, with or without a license on the grounds of ((the University of Washington, otherwise known and described as follows:  Fractional section 16, township 25 north, range 4 east of Willamette Meridian)) any college, university or community college supported in whole or in part by state funds."

            You have asked whether the passage of this measure would prohibit the issuance and use of banquet permits on the college or university campuses specified therein.

                                                                     ANALYSIS

            By your reference to banquet permits, we understand that you are speaking of those special liquor permits which are provided for in RCW 66.20.010(3); i.e., special permits to purchase liquor for consumption, and to consume liquor, at a banquet.  Such permits, however, do not authorize the sale of intoxicating liquors either at that banquet or any place else.  Therefore, since RCW 66.44.190,supra, only addresses itself to the sale of such liquor and not to its use or consumption, the passage of House Bill No. 525 would not result in the establishment of a statutory prohibition against the use and consumption of liquor on a college or university campus pursuant to a duly issued banquet permit.

             [[Orig. Op. Page 2]]   Having said this, however, we should nevertheless note our understanding that at the present time, as a matter of discretionary policy, the state liquor contol board does not issue banquet permits for use on the University of Washington campus.  The board is not prohibited by law from issuing such permits but, as a matter of policy, it does not do so.  Accordingly, if House Bill No. 525 should be enacted so as to extend the prohibition against sales to all other publicly supported university or college campuses in this state, it is possible that the liquor board might respond by determining to extend this same policy with respect to the issuance of banquet permits to those other campuses.

            It is hoped that the foregoing will be of some assistance to you.

Very truly yours,

SLADE GORTON
Attorney General

PHILIP H. AUSTIN
Deputy Attorney General