BILL ANALYSIS Ó
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 816|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
CONSENT
Bill No: AB 816
Author: Hall (D)
Amended: As introduced
Vote: 21
SENATE GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION COMMITTEE : 11-0, 6/11/13
AYES: Wright, Nielsen, Berryhill, Calderon, Cannella, Correa,
De León, Galgiani, Hernandez, Lieu, Padilla
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-0, 5/9/13 (Consent) - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Alcoholic beverages: tied-house restrictions:
on-sale and off-sale
retailers advertising
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill merges two similar tied-house exceptions
(one pertaining to on-sale retailers the other to off-sale
retailers) within the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act (ABC Act)
which authorizes the dissemination of information regarding the
retail availability of products by alcoholic beverage producers,
distributors or importers in response to direct requests from
consumers.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
CONTINUED
AB 816
Page
2
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 or occupation taxes for this purpose.
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.Provides that no licensee shall, directly or indirectly, give
any premium, gift, free goods, or other thing of value in
connection with the sale, distribution, or sale and
distribution of alcoholic beverages, and no retailer shall,
directly or indirectly, receive any premium, gift, free goods
or other thing of value from a supplier of alcoholic
beverages, except as authorized by the Department of ABC.
4.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). An "off-sale" license authorizes the sale
of all types of alcoholic beverages for consumption off the
premises in original, sealed containers.
This bill merges two similar tied-house exceptions (one
pertaining to "on-sale" retailers the other to "off-sale"
retailers) within the ABC Act which authorizes the dissemination
of information regarding the retail availability of products by
alcoholic beverage producers, distributors or importers in
response to direct requests from consumers.
Background
Tied-house refers to a practice in this country prior to
Prohibition and still occurring in England today where a bar or
public house, from whence comes the "house" of tied house, is
tied to the products of a particular manufacturer, either
because the manufacturer owns the house, or the house is
contractually obligated to carry only a particular
CONTINUED
AB 816
Page
3
manufacturer's products.
The original policy rationale for this body of law was to (1)
promote the state's interest in an orderly market; (2) prohibit
the vertical integration and dominance by a single producer in
the marketplace; (3) prohibit commercial bribery and protect the
public from predatory marketing practices; and (4) discourage
and/or prevent the intemperate use of alcoholic beverages.
Generally, other than exceptions granted by the Legislature, the
holder of one type of license is not permitted to do business as
another type of licensee within the "three-tier" system.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/25/13)
California Beer and Beverage Distributors
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
suppliers often list on a Facebook fan page or Web site, the
different restaurants where a consumer may purchase their
products. Thus, given the development of new social media,
distributors are utilizing the various social media mediums as a
marketing tool to inform consumers about additional retail
locations where a product can be purchased. This bill is simply
intended to clean-up existing ABC statutes by consolidating into
a single statute the "on-sale" and "off-sale" provisions of law
which authorize manufacturers and distributors, in response to a
direct inquiry from a consumer, to provide information relative
to where their product is available for purchase.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-0, 5/9/13
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom,
Blumenfield, Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown,
Buchanan, Ian Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway,
Cooley, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Eggman, Fong, Fox, Frazier,
Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gordon, Gorell, Gray,
Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hernández, Jones,
Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Lowenthal, Maienschein, Mansoor,
Medina, Melendez, Mitchell, Morrell, Mullin, Muratsuchi,
Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, V. Manuel
Pérez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Skinner, Stone,
CONTINUED
AB 816
Page
4
Ting, Torres, Wagner, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams,
Yamada, John A. Pérez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Donnelly, Holden, Logue, Waldron, Vacancy
MW:nl 6/25/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
**** END ****
CONTINUED