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Minnesota halted government operations on July 1 because the parties couldn’t agree on a $5 billion gap in the proposed budget. The confrontation has sidelined 22,000 state employees and caused consternation for businesses and residents. AP reports:
Cosmetologists, nurses, dentists and other professionals can’t get licenses to practice. Would-be drivers can’t take license tests and get behind the wheel. Some businesses are hung up because they can’t get required inspections. Hundreds of restaurants and bar owners can’t buy liquor, and fear serious fallout when current supplies run out.
One unanticipated result has been a statewide threat to liquor supplies and sales. MillerCoors LLC, the second-biggest U.S. beermaker, was told to pull 39 brands of its beer from store shelves because a $1,170 “brand-label registration fee” hadn’t been processed before the shutdown. Coors had paid the fee, but because it initially paid too much, the licence was delayed until a replacement cheque could be sent.
Local governments can’t renew liquor licences without information from the state, and some liquor stores are still able to buy alcohol but aren’t allowed to sell it. The Wall Street Journal reported on a number of instances in which store owners paid the requisite fees, but hadn’t received the appropriate papers by the time of the shutdown.
