SALT LAKE CITY -- A Utah lawmaker who left his footprint on the state’s liquor laws is resigning.
Sen. John Valentine won’t be back for next year’s legislative session. Gov. Gary Herbert has nominated Valentine to chair the Utah Tax Commission.
While the senator spent much of his career shaping tax policy, Valentine is most well-known to the public as the lawmaker who had heavy influence on liquor laws.
“I hope they don’t undo some of my liquor legislation like putting back membership requirements in bars,” Valentine said. “That was the tradeoff we made for having separation areas in restaurants.”
Valentine’s new job as tax commissioner won’t be official until September.
He will be replacing Bruce Johnson who served for 16 years.
