BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                            



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                                    THIRD READING


          Bill No:  AB 1425
          Author:   Assembly Governmental Organization Committee
          Amended:  9/6/13 in Senate
          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 :  70-0, 5/16/13 (Consent) - See last page for  
            vote


          SUBJECT  :    Alcoholic beverages

           SOURCE  :     Author


           DIGEST  :    This bill makes non-controversial and clarifying  
          changes to the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act (ABC Act).

           Senate Floor Amendments  of 9/6/13 delete an existing tied-house  
          exception sunset; consolidate specified beer and wine  
          provisions; and allow beer or wine made for personal or family  
          use to be donated to a nonprofit organization and used at a  
          fundraising event, as specified.

           ANALYSIS  :    

          Existing law:
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                                                                    AB 1425
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          2


          1. Establishes the Department of Alcohol 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 for this purpose. 

          2. Requires the Department of ABC to submit an annual report to  
             the Legislature by March 1 on the Department's activities for  
             the previous fiscal year.

          3. Prohibits a licensed wine blender (Type 22) from holding a  
             retail license and prohibits a retail licensee from holding a  
             wine blender license; and specifies that this prohibition  
             does not apply to licenses issued on or before February 2,  
             1968.

          4. Prohibits a licensed wine blender from conducting wine  
             tastings on or off its licensed premises; and specifies that  
             this prohibition does not apply to wine blender licenses  
             issued on or before February 2, 1968.

          5. 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.

          6. Establishes, until December 31, 2014, a tied-house exemption  
             that allows an alcoholic beverage licensee to make monetary  
             and alcoholic beverage contributions to a symphony  
             association (the San Francisco Symphony) that is a nonprofit  
             charitable corporation or association, as defined, and under  
             specified condition.

          7. Allows persons over 21 years of age to produce specified  
             amounts of beer or wine for personal or family use without a  
             permit or license issued by ABC.

          8. Permits home brewed wine or beer to be removed from the  
             premises where manufactured for use in competition at  
             organized affairs, exhibitions, or competitions including  

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                                                                    AB 1425
                                                                     Page  
          3

             homemakers' contests, tastings, or judgings; and stipulates  
             that wine manufactured by a home winemaker shall not be sold  
             or offered for sale.

          This bill makes non-controversial and clarifying changes to the  
          ABC Act.  Specifically, this bill:

           1. Amends Business and Professions Code (BPC) Section 23055 to  
             require the Department of ABC to post its annual report to  
             the Legislature on its Internet Web site by March 1 of each  
             year instead of submitting it to the Legislature.  This  
             proposed change makes the report easily accessible to  
             interested parties and is consistent with SB 71 (Leno,  
             Chapter 728, Statutes of 2012), which required state agencies  
             to place specified reports on their Internet Web sites  
             instead of submitting them to the Legislature.

           2. Amends BPC Section 23356.2 by consolidating separate beer  
             and wine provisions into one designated code section, and  
             allowing beer or wine made for personal or family use to be  
             donated to a nonprofit organization and used at a fundraising  
             event conducted solely by and solely for the benefit of the  
             nonprofit organization and only for consumption on the  
             premises of the fundraising event, provided that a license is  
             issued by ABC.

           3. Amends BPC Sections 23356.8 and 23356.9 to remove the  
             grandfather clauses that allow wine blender licensees issued  
             prior to February 2, 1968 to hold retail licenses.  At the  
             time these sections were enacted in 1968, two wine blenders  
             held retail licenses.  None of the existing Type 22 wine  
             blender licenses were issued or transferred prior to 1968,  
             which makes these grandfather clauses obsolete.

           4. Amends BPC Section 25503.1 by removing the December 31, 2014  
             sunset date. 

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  Yes    
          Local:  Yes

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  70-0, 5/16/13
          AYES:  Achadjian, Alejo, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom,  
            Blumenfield, Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Ian  
            Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley,  

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                                                                    AB 1425
                                                                     Page  
          4

            Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Fong, Fox, Frazier, Garcia,  
            Gatto, Gomez, Gordon, Gorell, Gray, Hagman, Hall, Harkey,  
            Roger Hernández, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue,  
            Lowenthal, Maienschein, Mansoor, Medina, Mitchell, Mullin,  
            Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea,  
            V. Manuel Pérez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Skinner,  
            Ting, Torres, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk,  
            Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Allen, Buchanan, Eggman, Beth Gaines, Grove,  
            Holden, Melendez, Morrell, Stone, Vacancy


          MW:d  9/9/13   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  NONE RECEIVED

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