New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy sat at a table Wednesday night behind a microphone and alongside an open can of “Sign the Bill Phil” beer.
The governor took a sip, “just to be social,” at the urging of WNYC “Ask Governor Murphy” host Nancy Solomon. She’d gifted the can from Icarus Brewing in Lakewood to Murphy during the live broadcast.
“It’s really good, by the way, guys,” Murphy said. “That is a very nice beer. It is a good beer.”
But the governor doesn’t plan to sign the bill — at least not until he can use it to leverage legislation he wants.
Icarus worked with the Brewers Guild of New Jersey on the beer — a gimmick meant to pressure Murphy to lift restrictions that breweries say threaten to kill their business. The state’s Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control first put the restrictions in place four years ago, and they went into effect as brewers renewed their licenses last year. The rules limit how often breweries can host events on-site or participate in events off-site, and prevent them from partnering with food trucks and other vendors who offer food. They also keep brewers from running pop-up shops, selling coffee or holding happy hours.
And while both houses of the state Legislature unanimously passed a bill to loosen the restrictions earlier this year, Murphy says he’s holding off until he can get lawmakers to take up his own plan for liquor license reform. In the meantime, the state is declining to enforce the restrictions until at least Jan. 1.
Murphy said on “Ask Governor Murphy” that breweries, distilleries and wineries are operating under “ridiculous restrictions” — “but I’m not going to get piecemealed on this.”
The governor has struggled to get widespread support for his proposal to lift Prohibition-era state caps on how many liquor licenses can be issued in a given municipality — currently limited to one for every 3,000 residents.
Murphy would gradually loosen the population cap and eventually eliminate…
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