Regulating Alcohol Delivery by Third-Party Providers in Iowa

ABSTRACT

Since the repeal of Prohibition in 1933, most states have relied on some form of a three-tier system to regulate the manufacture, distribution, and sale of alcohol. With the rapid changes in technology, e-commerce, and consumer habits today, the use of unlicensed third-party providers ("TPPs") to solicit and deliver alcohol orders on behalf of licensed retailers threatens to upend alcohol regulation and the three-tier system. This would be undesirable because it might frustrate several goals of alcohol regulation such as protecting public health and safety, ensuring a fair and orderly alcohol market, and holding entities involved in the alcohol industry accountable to the public. Examining Iowa Code section 123.46A, Iowa's third-party alcohol delivery law that was enacted in July 2021, this Note argues that more effective regulation of TPP activity can be achieved by (1) issuing TPP licenses, (2) requiring licensed retailers to exercise control over every part of the transaction facilitated by TPPs, and (3) amending Iowa 's tied-house law to prohibit manufacturers and distributors from acquiring an economic interest in TPPs.