Health advocates are skeptical of an initiative to relax Massachusetts' alcohol laws as forces, and money, pool ahead of a potential overhaul, reports The Boston Globe.



Specifically, the elimination of "place of last drink" reports compiled by state courts documenting which bars served customers prior to drunken driving arrests and a move to ease restrictions on drinkers with out-of-state identifications have drawn criticism, The Globe reports.

Bishop's in Northampton tops 'place of last drink' before OUI list in Western Massachusetts



Both of the proposals have the support of Massachusetts Restaurant Association, a collective representing more than 18,000 Bay State food and drink stops.



"Our laws in Massachusetts are so complex and intertwined that when you pull on one piece, there may be unintended public health consequences," Heather Warner of Hampshire County's Strategic Planning Initiative for Families and Youth told the paper.



Massachusetts Treasurer Deborah Goldberg has criticized the state's alcohol laws as "complicated" and "antiquated."



Her Alcohol Task Force, set to begin a sweeping overhaul this month, plans to make extensive changes to the laws with the goal of tailoring the rules to a 21st century marketplace.



Liquor retailers also complain about high taxes, constraints on the permissible hours of sales and limits on licenses and promotions. Total Wine & More, for instance, wants to the state to allow alcohol coupons and customer loyalty discounts, The Globe reports.



Meanwhile, some health advocates make no bones about potential effects, however, telling the paper the state stands to increase alcoholism, drunken driving, underage drinking and disease by making alcohol trade and acquisition easier. They'd in contrast like to see the laws made tougher.



It's shaping up to be a standoff.



"Allowing [restaurant] operators to take out-of-state IDs is not going to have society going down the drain," Steve Clark, director of government affairs at MRA told The Globe. "And are you really telling me that someone getting a Bloody Mary at brunch at 11 a.m. on Sunday is causing the youth of America to drink more? I mean, I don't even know how to respond to that. I commend the efforts [public health groups] undertake, but going after the legal business does not seem to be the best strategy."



Although Goldberg has touted her history of enforcing alcohol restrictions as a selectwoman in Brookline, but has called the state's current set of laws regulating alcohol "unwieldy."



The fight is likely to heat up through the month as the task force prepares to vet the arguments of both sides.