A Lafourche Parish lawmaker urged a state House committee Wednesday to give legal precedence to the generations-old practice of enjoying a beer or glass of wine at barbershops and salons, but his last call for free alcohol fell on deaf ears.

Rep. Truck Gisclair, D-Larose, wanted the House Judiciary Committee to create a new liquor-license category for spas, barbershops, salons and similar establishments.

“There are numerous salons, day spas and barbershops in Louisiana that give one complimentary drink to their clients as part of the overall service, and apparently there have been some conflicting issues with the (Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control) as to exactly how this type of service should be covered in the law,” Gisclair said.

The committee ended up killing House Bill 108 after several members requested clarifications from state officials as to whether the practice of handing out a single, free alcoholic beverage is against the law.

ATC Commissioner Murphy Painter refused to directly answer the question but did say that such establishments should be licensed.

Gisclair said five states have passed similar laws, and local businesses are being forced to look over their shoulders out of fear of Painter’s office.

Kevin Sevin of Larose told the committee that he operates 10 of those businesses, a chain known as “Just 4 Him” that offers one free beer per adult customer as well as soft drinks and bottled water to minors and other patrons.

Sevin said after advertising his business and the free beer, ATC agents visited his Baton Rouge location and served his business a citation.

He contends he was unfairly targeted.

“By limiting it to one, it doesn’t turn into a barroom,” Sevin said. “We’re not in the bar business.”

Painter described Sevin and his wife, who co-founded the chain, as “good entrepreneurs” but added that he couldn’t endorse their business model.

He also said there is a license that Sevin could currently apply for, but it would cost several hundred dollars.

“Alcohol is a regulated commodity,” Painter said. “It’s not like water, soft drinks and everything else. It’s very complicated.”

According to Gisclair’s legislation, the business owner would have been able to provide “any bona fide customer” with no more than “two five-ounce glasses of wine, one 12-ounce glass of beer or more than a total of two ounces of alcohol of a high alcohol content.”

The permit would have been applied for annually and the fees would have ranged from $25 to $50.

Based on a fiscal analysis of the legislation prepared by House staff, such a program would cost the state possibly $1 million annually, depending on how many of the 9,500 or so eligible businesses would actually apply for the special “Class D” license.

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