BILL NUMBER: AB 2184 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 20, 2012
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Hall
FEBRUARY 23, 2012
An act to amend Section 25502 of add and
repeal Section 25502.2 of the Business and Professions Code,
relating to alcoholic beverages.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2184, as amended, Hall. Alcoholic beverages: tied-house
restrictions.
Existing law, known as tied-house restrictions, prohibits
specified licensees from furnishing, giving, or lending money or
other thing of value, directly or indirectly, to a person engaged in
operating, owning, or maintaining an off-sale licensed premises.
This bill would provide that the autographing of a bottle
or bottles of distilled spirits at a promotional event conducted at
an off-sale licensed retail premises by a person who holds an
ownership interest in that distilled spirits brand is not a thing of
value authorize, until January 1, 2015, the appearance
of a person employed or engaged by an authorized licensee at a
promotional event held at the premises of an off-sale
retail licensee for the purposes of providing autographs, subject to
specified conditions .
The Alcoholic Beverage Control Act provides that a violation of
any of its provisions for which another penalty or punishment is not
specifically provided is a misdemeanor. This bill would expand
existing crimes by imposing additional requirements on a licensee
under the act, thus, the bill would impose a state-mandated local
program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no yes .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 25502.2 is added to the
Business and Professions Code , to read:
25502.2. (a) A person employed or engaged by an authorized
licensee may appear at a promotional event at the premises of an
off-sale retail licensee for the purposes of providing autographs to
consumers at the promotional event only under the following
conditions:
(1) A purchase from the off-sale retail licensee is not required.
(2) A fee is not charged to attend the promotional event.
(3) Autographing may only be provided on consumer advertising
specialities given by the authorized licensee to a consumer or on any
item provided by the consumer.
(4) The promotional event does not exceed 4 hours in duration.
(5) There are no more than two promotional events per calendar
year involving the same authorized licensee at a single premises of
an off-sale retail licensee.
(6) The off-sale retail licensee may advertise the promotional
event to be held at its licensed premises.
(7) An authorized licensee may advertise in advance of the
promotional event only in publications of the authorized licensee,
subject to the following conditions:
(A) The advertising only lists the name and address of the
off-sale retail licensee, the name of the alcoholic beverage product
being featured at the promotional event, and the time, date, and
location of the off-sale retail licensee location where the
promotional event is being held.
(B) The listing of the off-sale retail licensee's name and address
is the only reference to the off-sale retail licensee in the
advertisement and is relatively inconspicuous in relation to the
advertisement as a whole, and the advertisement does not contain any
pictures or illustrations of the off-sale retail licensee's premises
or laudatory references to the off-sale retail licensee.
(8) A wholesaler does not directly or indirectly underwrite, share
in, or contribute to any costs related to the promotional event,
other than for a promotional event for which the wholesaler employs
or engages the person providing autographs to consumers at the
promotional event.
(9) The authorized licensee notifies the department in writing of
the promotional event at least 30 days in advance of the promotional
event.
(10) The authorized licensee maintains records necessary to
establish its compliance with this section.
(b) For purposes of this section, "authorized licensee" means a
manufacturer, winegrower, manufacturer's agent, California winegrower'
s agent, rectifier, importer, brandy manufacturer, brandy importer,
or wholesaler.
(c) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2016.
SEC. 2. No reimbursement is required by this act
pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local
agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a
new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or
changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of
Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a
crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the
California Constitution.
SECTION 1. Section 25502 of the Business and
Professions Code is amended to read:
25502. (a) No manufacturer, winegrower, manufacturer's agent,
California winegrower's agent, rectifier, distiller, bottler,
importer, or wholesaler, or any officer, director, or agent of any
such person, shall, except as authorized by this division:
(1) Hold the ownership, directly or indirectly, of any interest in
an off-sale license.
(2) (A) Furnish, give, or lend any money or other thing of value,
directly or indirectly, to, or guarantee the repayment of any loan or
the fulfillment of any financial obligation of, any person engaged
in operating, owning, or maintaining any off-sale licensed premises.
(B) For purposes of this paragraph, the autographing of a bottle
or bottles of distilled spirits at a promotional event conducted at
an off-sale licensed retail premises by a person who holds an
ownership in that distilled spirits brand shall not be a thing of
value.
(3) Own or control any interest, directly or indirectly, by stock
ownership, interlocking directors, or trusteeship, in the business,
furniture, fixtures, refrigeration equipment, signs, except signs for
interior use mentioned in subdivision (g) of Section 25503, or lease
in premises licensed with an off-sale license.
(4) Own or control any interest, directly or indirectly, by stock
ownership, interlocking directors, trusteeship, or mortgage of the
realty upon which an off-sale licensed premises is maintained.
(b) Any wholesaler in counties not to exceed 15,000 population who
holds both a beer and wine wholesaler's license and an off-sale
general license and who held such licenses prior to September 19,
1947, may continue to hold such licenses but may not transfer the
beer and wine wholesaler's license to another individual,
individuals, partnership, corporation or other legal entity. Where
the off-sale general license is transferred to an individual,
individuals, partnership, corporation or other legal entity, the
transfer shall be a person-to-person transfer only.
(c) Nothing in this section prohibits any holder of a distilled
spirits manufacturer's, manufacturer's agent's, California winegrower'
s agent, rectifier's, or wholesaler's license, or any officer,
employee, or representative of any such licensee, from acting as a
trustee for any off-sale general licensee in any bankruptcy or other
proceedings for the benefit of the creditors of the off-sale general
licensee.
(d) Nothing in this section shall alter, change, or otherwise
affect, retroactively or prospectively, any of the rights or
privileges granted to a winegrower or brandy manufacturer by Section
23362, or by any other provision of this division.
(e) This section does not apply to an employee of a licensee
referred to in subdivision (a) who is a nonadministrative and
nonsupervisorial employee.