Private Event in Public Space Needs Alcohol License

The Statuses Don't Define Public Spaces

MADISON, Wis. – Republican Attorney General Brad Schimel says private events in public spaces need liquor licenses.

Schimel quietly issued an informal opinion Nov. 16 at the request of state Rep. Rob Swearingen, a member of the Assembly tourism committee.

Swearingen asked Schimel to interpret statutes that prohibit owners of public places from allowing alcohol without a license. The statutes don’t define public places.

Schimel wrote there’s no distinction between a public place that hosts an event open to everyone and a public place that can be rented out for a limited private event.

The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, a conservative law firm, issued a news release Monday calling the opinion an “extreme interpretation” that threatens wedding barns. The firm says an event on private property clearly isn’t a public place.