The House Committee on Regulatory Reform on Feb. 20 heard testimony on House Bill 4065, sponsored by Representative Gary Aragona, which would allow Macomb Community College to obtain a retail liquor license for its conference centers so event renters would not need one-day permits for each event.

Representative Gary Aragona, speaking as sponsor, said the change would simplify logistics for community groups and rental users who now must obtain single-day licenses for each event. "What this bill does is simply allows the community college to go to the open market and purchase a liquor license so that they can offer that as one of their offerings when somebody is renting these halls," Aragona said.

Committee members asked practical questions on how the change would interact with existing licensing rules. Representative Carter asked whether the measure would be unique to Macomb or create a model for other community colleges; Aragona said universities already have options and this bill targets conference-center operations at a community college. Representative Thompson asked about turnaround time for one-day permits; Aragona described the current process as potentially burdensome when organizations forget paperwork and said the proposed change would streamline event planning.

The Michigan Liquor Control Commission later filed a supportive card (Dave Martin) and officials from the commission gave a separate presentation on agency operations during the same meeting.

No committee vote on HB 4065 was recorded in the transcript. Committee members set the meeting at ease to allow additional presentations; the bill remains at the hearing stage based on the record.