Bill sets up fight over liquor contract process
The Democratic leader in the Maine Senate proposed a bill Thursday that would separate the renegotiation of the state's wholesale liquor distribution contract from a plan to repay the state's hospitals. The proposed legislation instead seeks to keep the contract fully private, in sharp contrast to a bill proposed by Gov. Paul LePage.
The Portland Press Herald reported that the latest proposal from Sen. Seth Goodall, D-Richmond, has won praise from the current contract holder, Maine Beverage Co., while the only known new bidder, Ford Reiche, denounced the newly proposed LD 644.
Goodall's proposal would retain the management structure of the current contract while the LePage administration proposal calls for the state to take over monitoring inventory, managing accounts and advertising and coordinating with suppliers, the paper reported.
Goodall's bill would have the state ask bidders for a 10-year proposal, including an initial payment of either $20 million or $200 million and an outline of the terms of annual payments, a revenue-sharing formula and the minimum guaranteed profit margin needed by the bidder.
While LePage's plan would use contract proceeds to fund revenue bonds to pay $187 million in Mainecare debts, Goodall's proposal separates the liquor contract renegotiation from paying back the state's hospitals.
Maine Beverage Co. President Dean Williams told the paper that he supports Goodall's proposal because it keeps more aspects of liquor distribution operation in private hands.
Goodall's proposal also provides that if no new qualified bids are received, the current contract could be extended for one year for $34 million.
Ford Reiche, who formed the company Dirigo Spirit in order to bid on the new contract, denounced the latest bill in a written statement.
"State Finance Commissioner Sawin Millet and the State Liquor Bureau have been publicly working toward a fair and open selection process for more than a year without objections from any stakeholders except the incumbent, Maine Beverage Company," Reiche wrote. "This new legislative proposal is just another thinly veiled attempt to undermine that process."
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