2020 Wisconsin Statutes & Annotations
Chapter 125. Alcohol beverages.
125.10 Municipal regulation.
125.10 Municipal regulation.
(1) Authorization. Any municipality may enact regulations incorporating any part of this chapter and may prescribe additional regulations for the sale of alcohol beverages, not in conflict with this chapter. The municipality may prescribe forfeitures or license suspension or revocation for violations of any such regulations. Regulations providing forfeitures or license suspension or revocation must be adopted by ordinance. Any municipality may, by ordinance, regulate contests, competitions, or other events for the exhibition, demonstration, judging, tasting, or sampling of homemade wine or fermented malt beverages.
(2) Regulation of underage persons. A municipality or a county may enact an ordinance regulating conduct regulated by s. 125.07 (1) or (4) (a), (b) or (bm), 125.085 (3) (b) or 125.09 (2) only if it strictly conforms to the statutory subsection. A county ordinance enacted under this subsection does not apply within any municipality that has enacted or enacts an ordinance under this subsection.
(3) Zoning. Except as provided in s. 125.68, this chapter does not affect the power of municipalities to enact or enforce zoning regulations.
(4) Regulation of closed retail premises. A municipality may not prohibit the permittee, licensee, employees, salespersons, employees of wholesalers issued a permit under s. 125.28 (1) or 125.54 (1); employees of permittees under s. 125.295 with respect to the permittee's own retail premises; or service personnel from being present on premises operated under a Class “A", “Class A" or “Class C" license or under a Class “B" or “Class B" license or permit during hours when the premises are not open for business if those persons are performing job-related activities.
(5) Fermented malt beverages on commercial quadricycles.
(a) A municipality may, by ordinance, prohibit the consumption of fermented malt beverages by passengers on a commercial quadricycle within the municipality.
(b) Notwithstanding sub. (1), an ordinance enacted before January 1, 2014, regulating the possession or consumption of open containers of alcohol beverages in public places may not prohibit the possession or consumption of alcohol beverages by passengers on a commercial quadricycle. An ordinance that is inconsistent with this paragraph may not be enforced.
History: 1981 c. 79, 202; 1983 a. 74 ss. 19, 32; 1985 a. 28 ss. 5, 9; 1987 a. 168; 1989 a. 31, 253; 1991 a. 39; 1993 a. 208; 2007 a. 20; 2011 a. 32, 200; 2013 a. 106; 2015 a. 372.
Chapter 125 contemplates and expressly directs that regulation is to supersede competition in the retail sale of alcohol beverages. The regulatory scheme indicates a legislative intent to make state antitrust law not applicable by authorizing contrary or inconsistent conduct by granting municipalities broad statutory authority to prescribe or orchestrate anticompetitive regulation in the sale and consumption of alcohol if that regulation serves an important public interest. Private parties are eligible for antitrust immunity when they act in concert, in an anticompetitive manner, in direct response to pressure bordering on compulsion from a municipality. Eichenseer v. Madison-Dane County Tavern League, Inc. 2008 WI 38, 308 Wis. 2d 684, 748 N.W.2d 154, 05-1063.
A town must renew a license, if the proper application is made and the fees are paid, unless it revokes, suspends, or non-renews the license, following the procedures outlined in s. 125.12. This section does not give towns the authority to unilaterally modify the described premises in an individual license upon renewal of that license. A town must either pass a regulation or an ordinance under this section or it must find grounds for revocation or nonrenewal under s. 125.12. Wisconsin Dolls, LLC v. Town of Dell Prairie, 2012 WI 76, 342 Wis. 2d 350, 815 N.W.2d 690, 10-2900.
