LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska alcohol regulators are planning to ask lawmakers for more power to restrict beer sales in areas such as Whiteclay, a village on the border of South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.
The Nebraska Liquor Control Commission is expected to add the measure to its list of 2016 legislative proposals at a meeting next week.
The measure would allow the commission to designate specific areas as “alcohol impact zones,” if a local government requests it. Businesses within the zone could be restricted from selling certain products, such as those with high alcohol content. A similar bill stalled in a legislative committee in 2012.
Hobert Rupe, the commission’s executive director, says the designation could also be used in problem areas of Omaha and Lincoln.