BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 520|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 520
Author: Chesbro (D)
Amended: 2/11/14 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION COMMITTEE : 10-0, 6/24/14
AYES: Correa, Berryhill, Cannella, De León, Galgiani,
Hernandez, Lieu, Padilla, Torres, Vidak
NO VOTE RECORDED: Vacancy
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 78-0, 1/29/14 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT : Alcoholic beverages: instructional tastings
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill deletes an existing provision of the
Alcoholic Beverage Control Act (ABC Act) that grants a winery or
distilled spirits manufacturer the privilege of conducting
instructional consumer tastings at on-sale retail licensed
premises and recasts that provision to create a new Section of
law that accounts for updates in the ABC Act and for code
conformity purposes.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
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1.Establishes the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC)
and grants it exclusive authority to administer the provisions
of the ABC Act in accordance with laws enacted by the
Legislature. This involves licensing individuals and
businesses associated with the manufacture, importation and
sale of alcoholic beverages in this state and the collection
of license fees.
2.Separates the alcoholic beverage industry into three component
parts, or tiers, of manufacturer (including breweries,
wineries and distilleries), wholesaler, and retailer (both
on-sale and off-sale). This is known as the "tied-house" law.
3.Permits, as a limited exception to the general tied-house
rule, winegrowers and their agents, including wine importers,
to conduct and participate in instructional events known as
"meet the winemaker" dinners held at a retailer's premises
featuring the winemaker's wine, provided certain conditions
are met. Although no wine can be given away at the events,
minimal amounts of wine, taken from barrels or tanks, may be
sample tasted. In addition, no more than three one-ounce
tastes of wine per consumer may be offered at the
instructional event from bottles of wine provided by the
authorized person. Provides that minimal amounts of the
samples or tastes provided at the instructional event do not
constitute a thing of value.
4.Permits, as a limited exception to the general tied-house
rule, a winegrower, beer manufacturer, beer or wine
wholesaler, distilled spirits manufacturer, distilled spirits
general rectifier, or distilled spirits general importer to
conduct "instructional" tastings for licensees and their
employees on the subject of wine, beer, or distilled spirits.
Also permits a winegrower or distilled spirits manufacturer to
instruct "consumers" at an on-sale licensed retail premise
provided certain conditions are met.
5.Authorizes, as a limited exception to the general tied-house
rule, beer manufacturers, beer wholesalers, and beer importers
to conduct instructional beer tastings (not to exceed eight
ounces per person, per day) to consumers of legal drinking age
at on-sale retail licensed premises under specified
conditions.
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6.Prohibits any licensee from giving any premium, gift, or free
goods in connection with the sale or distribution of any
alcoholic beverage, except as specifically authorized. The
ABC Act provides that a violation of any of its provisions for
which another penalty or punishment is not specifically
provided is a misdemeanor.
7.Defines an "on-sale" license as authorizing the sale of all
types of alcoholic beverages, namely, beer, wine and distilled
spirits, for consumption on the premises (such as at a
restaurant or bar); and an "off-sale" license authorizes the
sale of all types of alcoholic beverages for consumption off
the premises in original, sealed containers.
This bill:
1.Expands the types of "authorized licensees" that may provide
instructional tastings events at on-sale retail licensed
premises to also include, in addition to a winery or distilled
spirits manufacturer, the following licensees: California
winegrower's agent, beer and wine importer general, beer and
wine wholesaler, wine rectifier, distilled spirits
manufacturer's agent, distilled spirits importer general,
distilled spirits rectifier, distilled spirits general
rectifier, rectifier, out-of-state distilled spirits shipper's
certificate holder, distilled spirits wholesaler, brandy
manufacturer, brandy importer, or California brandy
wholesaler.
2.Stipulates that an authorized licensee shall not include any
person that solely holds a combination of a beer and wine
wholesaler license and an off-sale beer and wine retail
license or holds those licenses solely in combination with any
license not listed in #1 above or in combination with a beer
and wine importer general license, or holds a limited off-sale
retail wine license.
3.Makes it explicit that no premium, gift, free goods, or other
things of value shall be given away by an authorized licensee
or its designated representative in connection with an
instructional tasting.
4.Permits the authorized licensee, with permission of the retail
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on-sale licensee upon whose premises the instructional tasting
event will be held, to advertise the event, subject to certain
restrictions.
5.Permits the on-sale retail licensee to advertise an
instructional tasting event to the general public and requires
the costs of this advertising to be borne solely by the
on-sale retail licensee.
6.Stipulates that no more than one authorized licensee or its
designated representative shall conduct an instructional
tasting pursuant to this section at the on-sale retail
licensed premises of an on-sale retail licensee at any time,
and a person shall not act as the designated representative
for more than one authorized licensee at that instructional
tasting.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 7/31/14)
Wine Institute
OPPOSITION : (Verified 7/31/14)
Alcohol Justice
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office, this
bill updates an existing 15-year-old statute that permits a
winery or distilled spirits manufacturer to conduct a consumer
tasting at an on-sale retailer's licensed premises. The updates
are twofold: (1) the supplier, wholesaler, and the on-sale
retailer are separately authorized to provide advertising for
the event, and (2) a wine and spirits wholesaler is authorized
to conduct the tasting for their supplier. For simplicity's
sake, the existing privilege in Business and Professions Code
Section 25503.5 is transferred into a new Section 25503.57. The
language is not verbatim to the off-sale tastings law due to the
fact that the Office of Legislative Counsel made some cleanup,
but nonsubstantive, changes.
The author's office points out that other tastings laws found in
the ABC Act (e.g., the winemaker dinner and off-sale tastings
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statutes) already permit the supplier, wholesaler, and retailer
to provide their own advertising, such as on their Facebook
pages. The wine industry has asked that this issue be addressed
through the code conformity change. In addition, the author's
office states that ABC has opined that a wholesaler is required
to obtain a letter-of-approval from its supplier before
conducting a tasting at a restaurant or nightclub - this is a
paperwork hassle - and this bill addresses this administrative
burden, as well.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : Alcohol Justice "objects to AB 520
because it expands the types of licensees that may provide
instructional tastings events regarding wine or distilled
spirits at on-sale retail licensed premises. Evidence shows
that increased availability of alcoholic beverages is correlated
with an increase in alcohol related harm."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 78-0, 1/29/14
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian
Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley,
Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox,
Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon,
Gorell, Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hernández,
Holden, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Lowenthal,
Maienschein, Mansoor, Medina, Melendez, Morrell, Mullin,
Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, V.
Manuel Pérez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas,
Rodriguez, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Wagner, Waldron,
Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Logue, Perea
MW:e 8/5/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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