Would Wisconsin have the lowest age in the US for serving alcohol if a bill allowing 14-year-olds to serve is made law?

On May 1, 2023, two Republican Wisconsin lawmakers, Sen. Rob Stafsholt and Rep. Chanz Green, circulated a bill that would change the law to allow people as young as 14 to serve alcohol in bars and restaurants. All states, including Wisconsin, have a legal minimum drinking age is 21 — something the federal government requires as a condition of receiving full highway funding. Currently, only adults 18 and over can serve alcohol in Wisconsin.

As of Jan. 1, 2022, the state with the lowest legal age for serving alcohol was West Virginia, according to the latest data from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

West Virginia's minimum age for serving beer, wine or spirits was 16. The highest minimum age was 21 in Nevada and Utah. The minimum in most states, including Wisconsin, was 18.

According to the Associated Press, the bill's co-sponsors said the current law “causes workforce issues due to an establishment’s underage employees only being able to do part of their job.”