• Home
  • News
    • Politics & Government
    • Business & Economy
    • Crime / Courts
    • Health / Medicine
  • Sports
    • High School Sports
    • Radio Iowa Poll
  • Affiliates
    • Affiliate Support Page
  • Contact Us
    • Reporters

Radio Iowa

Iowa's Radio News Network

You are here: Home / Crime / Courts / Bill would make it easier to cart half-bottle of wine home from restaurant

Bill would make it easier to cart half-bottle of wine home from restaurant

March 20, 2009 By admin

The Iowa Senate has endorsed a bill which would make it easier for restaurant patrons to leave with a partially-consumed bottle of wine and drive home without fear of being charged with driving around with an "open container" of alcohol.

Senator Rich Olive, a Democrat from Story City, said the bill would let a waiter or waitress put a bottle that’s been opened but still has a glass or two of wine in a sealed "doggy bag."

"They cost somewhere between 30 and 40 cents per bag," Olive said. "They then reseal it and if you are stopped, the police officer would be able to tell whether your open container is sealed in this doggy bag."

Under current law restaurants can re-cork a bottle of wine for a customer, but Olive said few do because police can’t tell who put the cork in the bottle. "You can never tell if they’ve popped open the cork when they left and started to drink back out of the bottle of wine," Olive said.

Olive argued this proposal may reduce drunken driving as restaurant-goers may be less inclined to drain a bottle of wine if they can safely tote home a half- or quarter-bottle. "If we can keep people from drinking too much alcohol and then driving — I think that’s a very fine thing for us to do," Olive said.

Olive got the idea from his statehouse secretary. "I don’t want anybody to think he spends all of his time drinking wine, but it was a concern of his," Olive joked. Several secretaries, senators and other legislative staffers laughed.

In addition, Senator Olive joked about the drinking habits of his peers during Thursday evening’s debate of the bill. "No one here in the senate has ever run into the problem of leaving a partial bottle of wine at the table," Olive said with a smile.

The bill now goes to the House for consideration.

 

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Filed Under: Crime / Courts, Politics / Govt Tagged With: Alcohol, Democratic Party, Department of Transportation, Legislature, Republican Party, Travel

Featured Stories

Governor hails passage of ‘transformational’ state government reorganization

Economic impact of Iowa casinos tops one billion dollars

State board approves millions in settlement with former Hawkeye football players

Monroe County man dies while serving prison term for killing brother

Bill would make changes in Iowa’s workplace drug testing law

TwitterFacebook
Tweets by RadioIowa

Ogundele and Ulis are leaving the Iowa basketball program

Iowa plays Auburn in NCAA Tournament

Volunteers help pull off NAIA Women’s basketball championship in Sioux City

Iowa State plays Kansas in Big 12 semis

Hawkeyes must wait after early exit

More Sports

Archives

Copyright © 2023 ยท Learfield News & Ag, LLC