Though state lawmakers and Gov. Butch Otter haven't been enthusiastic about the idea of privatizing state liquor sales thus far, a new poll commissioned by the Northwest Grocery Association shows a majority of Idahoans favoring the idea. The statewide poll, which queried 500 Idahoans and had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percent, was conducted Jan. 9-11 by Moore Information of Portland, Ore. Here's the question and answers:

"Recently there has been discussion about privatizing the distribution and sale of liquor in Idaho, so that liquor would be distributed by private wholesalers, the state government liquor stores would be closed, and liquor would be sold entirely by private grocery and retail stores. Which one of the following statements comes closest to your view about this?"

• "I support closing the state liquor stores and allowing liquor to be sold in certain grocery and retail stores" - 57 percent
• "I feel that Idaho should keep the current state liquor store system in place" - 36 percent
• None - 3 percent
• Not sure/don't know/undecided - 4 percent

Pollster Bob Moore, in a memo summarizing the results, wrote, "Based on these data, it appears that Idaho voters are receptive to proposals to privatize liquor sales and distribution, and passage of a liquor privatization law in Idaho is a real possibility." The grocers had considered sponsoring an initiative to that effect in Idaho this year, but decided instead to wait and pursue possible legislation this year or next year; meanwhile, the Idaho Federation of Reagan Republicans has launched signature-gathering for its own liquor-privatization initiative.