A sweeping new bill would overhaul Wisconsin's alcohol industry, touching everything from breweries to wineries to wedding barns

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Wisconsin's alcohol industry would see significant regulatory changes under a new proposal from top legislative leaders — a compromise years in the making among the state's most influential players in the multi-billion-dollar industry.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu and a handful of prominent GOP lawmakers introduced a bill Thursday that would make sweeping changes to the laws that govern the sales, distribution and production of all forms of booze and would create a new office within the state Department of Revenue to enforce the new rules.

Under the bill, the administrator of the division may appoint "special agents" and other staff to handle permitting, audit, education, legal and enforcement duties.

Brandon Scholz, president and CEO of the Wisconsin Grocers Association, said the group supports the bill "because it addresses a number of problems that have been out there," especially creating the oversight office within the DOR.

The Wisconsin Craft Beverage Coalition, which represents 250 independent distillers, wine-makers and brewers, said the bill provided crucial clarity for their industry, where small businesses often did not know what was legal or not when opening a business.