Prices for beer and wine may fall in Washington state

The Seattle Times reports:

The middleman is gone, and Washington consumers may pay less for wine and beer because of it.

A federal judge on Friday all but dismantled the state's three-tier system that governs the sale and distribution of wine and beer and artificially inflates prices - ruling that state interests do not trump federal law.

U.S. District Court Judge Marsha Pechman ordered the state Liquor Control Board to stop enforcing key parts of its regulatory system, such as requiring distributors to mark up prices 10 percent. But Pechman stayed her ruling for 30 days to give defendants time for appeal.

A spokesman for the state said the Liquor Control Board will study the decision over the weekend and meet on Monday to decide whether to appeal. The ruling was delivered just before 5 p.m. Friday.

"My guess is the lion's share [of the savings] can be passed back to the consumer," said Jim Sinegal, chief executive of Issaquah-based Costco Wholesale.

Costco sued the state Liquor Control Board in February 2004, charging that its regulatory system was anticompetitive and violated the federal Sherman Antitrust Act -enacted in 1890 as the government's first action to limit monopolies.

This may become a trend in other markets besides alcohol.In the state of Illinois,it's illegal for a car dealer to be open on Sunday.How many stupid laws like that restrain "interstate commerce"?