Some kids may soon be able to serve alcohol before they're old enough to drive.
A new bill proposed in Wisconsin would allow 14 to 17-year-olds to serve alcohol to seated customers. Currently, only workers age 18 and above can serve alcohol.
Republican lawmakers sponsoring the bill are touting the proposal as a way to mend workforce shortages.
Sen. Rob Stafsholt and Rep. Chanz Green circulated a memo to legislators seeking support for the proposal, saying the current age limit on serving alcohol "causes workforce issues due to an establishment's underage employees only being able to do part of their job," the Associated Press reported.
Allowing younger workers to serve alcohol "creates a simple solution" to the state's workforce shortage problems in the food and beverage industry, the memo said, per the AP.
The bill specifies that a licensed operator must be present to supervise underage workers. Bar and restaurant owners would also be allowed to approve who would serve the drinks.
If the bill passes, Wisconsin would have the lowest age limit nationwide for workers to serve alcohol, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. West Virginia allows 16-year-old workers to serve alcohol and Maine allows 17-year-old alcohol servers, but the majority of states set the minimum age at 18. Some even start at 20 and 21.
Britt Cudaback, spokesperson for Democratic Gov. Tony Evers appeared to criticize the Republican proposal on Twitter, instead listing off the governor's solutions to addressing the state's workforce challenges, such as making child care more affordable and investing in job and skills training.
While the proposal still has a long way to go until it could become law, it's not clear how many legislators would support it. However, the proposal does have the support of the Tavern League of Wisconsin, which represents the interests of licensed beverage retailers in the state, Wisconsin State Journal reported.
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