About one-fourth of the Utah bars and restaurants cited for state liquor law violations each year, fail to pay their fines on time, according to officials with the Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.
“They verbally commit to a settlement and then fail to either sign the agreement or pay their fines,” said Sheila Page, the DABC’s legal counsel from the Attorney General’s Office. “They don’t follow through with their obligation.”
On Tuesday, the seven-member DABC liquor commission decided to get tough on delinquents, giving three businesses a deadline of Dec. 15 to pay their fines or risk losing their liquor licenses.