Molly Beck

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

MADISON - Two farmers who rent out their barns for weddings and a conservative legal group are suing Gov. Tony Evers and his administration to prevent such venues from needing liquor licenses to operate.

The barn owners filed a lawsuit Tuesday in Dunn County Circuit Court asking a judge to decide whether the state's liquor laws apply to private barns that are rented out for parties where alcohol is consumed but not for sale.

Barn owners and free-market conservatives have argued the venues are private places and should not be subject to regulations applied to businesses whose model hinges on selling alcohol. Advocates for bars and restaurants say all wedding venues should face the same requirements if alcohol is consumed on their premises.

"I’m hoping this kind of puts an end to all the questions and uncertainty for everyone and that we can all be successful in what we've chosen to do," said Jean Bahn, owner of Farmview Event Barn in Berlin.

Bahn and John Govin, who owns The Weddin' Barn in Menomonie, are being represented by conservative legal firm Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty.

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The challenge against the Evers administration and Attorney General Josh Kaul comes weeks after former Attorney General Brad Schimel released a legal opinion arguing barns used as wedding venues are subject to the state's liquor laws.

Schimel said private places that may be rented out for a limited private event are still considered public and thus subject to state laws governing public places that serve alcohol.

Melissa Baldauff, spokeswoman for Evers, said the governor and Department of Revenue Secretary-designee Peter Barca are just beginning to study the issue. A spokeswoman for Kaul did not respond to questions about Kaul's interpretation of the state's laws related to alcohol consumption.

In November, Evers said: "Alcohol is something that needs control and so we have to make sure that is controlled in a way that other spirits are, so I think it should be controlled. ... Whether that's the right decision, I don't know."

The Tavern League, a powerful lobbying group that represents bars and restaurants in Wisconsin, supports Schimel's interpretation of the law.

Tavern League lobbyist Scott Stenger said in recent months his members comply with the state laws "but we are not going to be the only ones that are going to be licensed — meanwhile our competition is running us out of business because of the significant advantage they have over us."

Liquor licenses in Wisconsin range from $15 for a provisional retail license to $30,000 for businesses in newly developed districts appraised at $20 million.

The DOR has not directed barn wedding venue owners to obtain liquor licenses and hasn't indicated whether it will begin to do so.

A spokeswoman for the department on Monday said Barca "is still getting settled and hiring staff."

"He intends to reach out to Attorney General Kaul in the near future," spokeswoman Patty Mayers said.

Lucas Vebber, an attorney representing the barn owners, said his clients are bringing their lawsuit now to settle the dispute that has not been settled by lawmakers. WILL publicly opposes efforts to require barn wedding venues to have liquor licenses.

He said Schimel's analysis and debate among lawmakers over the last year has contributed to a cloud of uncertainty over how the venues should proceed and that his clients want clarity before wedding season kicks off.

"Really we just want an answer," he said. "We want the court to say what the law is as soon as possible.”

The lawsuit argues "recent actions at the state level have thrown a cloud of confusion over years of precedent, casting Plaintiffs’ business plans into uncertainty," and that Schimel's conclusions are "illogical."

"Private property does not become a 'public place' when it is rented out to members of the public," the lawsuit argues. "If that were the case then hotel rooms, apartments, and vacation cottages would be public places — because they are all available for rent by the public — and the owners and tenants/lessees of such places could consume alcohol on the premises only if they held a retail liquor license or permit."

Bahn, 64, hosted eight weddings in 2018 in a dairy barn on a farm she has owned with her husband for 30 years.

She said she stopped using the barn about 13 years ago amid falling milk prices and started renting it for weddings recently when her daughter asked to host her wedding there.

"I would never have opened up if I had to get a liquor license," she said. "I really wouldn’t have."