Brewery bill needs change before OK

Chuck Magerl, proprietor of Free State Brewing Co. in Lawrence, and other owners of microbreweries in Kansas will have to wait a little longer for the freedom to be able to own and operate more than one such business in the state.

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius on Friday vetoed a bill that would have permitted ownership of multiple microbreweries. The problem, she said: a “significant drafting error” that left the bill with “different language” than what had been agreed to by a conference committee.

“I support the intent of the bill and encourage the Legislature to pass a corrected version this year so I can sign it into law,” Sebelius said Friday.

Phil Bradley, who pushed for the bill’s intent as executive director of the Kansas Licensed Beverage Assn., said that the corrections would be made and sent to Sebelius for her signature.

“It will get fixed,” he said.