RYE — While lawmakers debate the merits of a bill calling for the reversal of state law to allow alcoholic beverages to be advertised on roadside billboards, an illegal beer ad was posted on a billboard in Rye last week, said Jim Wilson, director of the state Liquor Commission's Division of Enforcement.

RYE — While lawmakers debate the merits of a bill calling for the reversal of state law to allow alcoholic beverages to be advertised on roadside billboards, an illegal beer ad was posted on a billboard in Rye last week, said Jim Wilson, director of the state Liquor Commission's Division of Enforcement.



The ad was posted on a billboard along Lafayette Road for Yuengling Light Lager, a brand of beer which has not been sold in New Hampshire for 20 years, Wilson said. When the ad was called to the attention of the Liquor Commission, Wilson said, the Massachusetts beer distributor that paid for the ad, and Clear Channel, which owns the billboard, were notified they were in violation of state law, Wilson said.



“We reached out to both and said they were not in compliance with the law and they voluntarily pulled it down on Friday,” he said. “They said they were unaware and we used it as an educational opportunity.”



According to the liquor enforcement director, if the bill is passed to allow liquor advertising on billboards, state officials will next need to develop administrative rules for regulating the roadside ads.



“Right now the statute does not allow alcohol advertising on billboards, period,” he said.

State Rep. Adam Schroadter, R-Newmarket, is sponsoring the bill to lift the prohibition of for alcoholic beverage ads on billboards and approved by the Senate last month. He calls it a “weird holdover law” from the days of prohibition, while noting “New Hampshire has a long brewing tradition.”



Senate Bill 329 currently allows the state Liquor Commission to advertise its liquor sales in newspapers, magazines, periodicals, television and radio ads, in sports films and through electronic media, but prohibits the ads from billboards. The proposed bill would lift the billboard ban, bar ads promoting alcohol sales on billboards within 500 feet of schools, and prohibit advertising the prices for alcoholic beverages.



In a fiscal note with the bill, the Liquor Commission reports it has “no way to determine the fiscal impact on liquor fund revenues should billboards be used as a medium for advertising.”



Schroadter said the state, which oversees all liquor sales in New Hampshire, advertises its liquor stores on a billboard just south of Nashua, over the Mass. border.



Opposing the bill is the Beer Distributors of New Hampshire, which argues that alcohol ads on roadside billboards could have “negative consequences” for minors and “jeopardize New Hampshire's family-friendly brand,” said Scott Schaier, executive director of the beer distributors group.



“Both of these unintended consequences could negatively impact the tourism sector, the greater economy and New Hampshire's bottom line for years to come,” Schaier said.

“While the BDNH are obviously a pro-business association, we just want to make sure all the macro-economic and social factors are considered and the state's long-term interests are protected before a long-held alcohol policy restriction is lifted for a special interest group.”



Billboards can be found on both sides of Lafayette Road, from Portsmouth to Seabrook. A row of them is built along the Portsmouth traffic circle and another is erected near the side of a building at Buzzy's southbound truck stop, facing Maplewood Avenue.



Local businesses that regularly advertise on billboards include Service Credit Union, Beach Plum restaurants and Ben's Auto Body. When he testified before the Senate against the proposed law to lift the billboard ban, Schaier said there's a concern that allowing alcohol ads on billboards will draw large companies with big budgets to the market, while driving out local advertisers.



Schroadter said he discovered New Hampshire's billboard ban while researching a prior ban on happy hour advertising in the state, before he successfully reversed that law. He said he doesn't envision large liquor manufacturers buying billboard space, but does think the state could take advantage of the proposed change.



The Senate Finance Committee is scheduled to begin debating the bill at 1 p.m. today.