AB 973, as introduced, Gray. Alcoholic beverages: tied-house restrictions: on-sale and off-sale retailers advertising.
The Alcoholic Beverage Control Act contains limitations on sales commonly known as “tied-house” restrictions, which generally prohibit a manufacturer, winegrower, manufacturer’s agent, California winegrower’s agent, rectifier, distiller, bottler, importer, or wholesaler from furnishing, giving, or lending any money or other thing of value to any person engaged in operating, owning, or maintaining any off-sale licensed premises. For purposes of these provisions, the listing of the names, addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses, or Internet Web site addresses, of 2 or more unaffiliated off-sale retailers selling beer, wine, or distilled spirits and operating and licensed as bona fide public eating places selling the beer, wine, or distilled spirits produced, distributed, or imported by a nonretail industry member in response to a direct inquiry from a consumer, as specified, does not constitute a thing of value or prohibited inducement to the listed off-sale retailer, if specified conditions are met.
Existing law includes similar provisions applicable to on-sale licensed premises, except that those provisions also extend the above-described exception to other forms of electronic media.
This bill would delete the above exceptions that apply specifically to off-sale licensed premises and instead would include off-sale licensed premises within the exceptions previously applicable only to on-sale licensed premises.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 25500.1 of the Business and Professions
2Code is amended to read:
(a) The listing of the names, addresses, telephone
4numbers, email addresses, or Internet Web site addresses, or other
5electronic media, of two or more unaffiliated on-salebegin insert or off-saleend insert
6 retailers selling beer, wine, or distilled spirits produced, distributed,
7or imported by a nonretail industry member in response to a direct
8inquiry from a consumer received by telephone, by mail, by
9electronic inquiry, or in person does not constitute a thing of value
10or prohibited inducement to the listed on-salebegin insert or off-saleend insert retailer,
11provided all of the following conditions are met:
12(1) The listing does not also contain the retail price of the
13product.
14(2) The listing is the only reference to the on-salebegin insert or off-saleend insert
15 retailers in the direct communication.
16(3) The listing does not refer only to one on-sale retailer or only
17to on-salebegin insert or off-saleend insert retail establishments controlled directly or
18indirectly by the samebegin delete on-saleend delete retailer.
19(4) The listing is made by, or produced by, or paid for,
20exclusively by the nonretail industry member making the
response.
21(b) For the purposes of this section, “nonretail industry member”
22is defined as a manufacturer, including, but not limited to, a beer
23manufacturer, winegrower, or distiller of alcoholic beverages or
24an agent of that entity, or a wholesaler, regardless of any other
25licenses held directly or indirectly by that person.
Section 25502.1 of the Business and Professions Code
27 is repealed.
(a) Notwithstanding Section 25502, the listing of the
29names, addresses, telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, or Internet
30Web site addresses, of two or more unaffiliated off-sale retailers
31selling the products produced, distributed or imported by a nonretail
P3 1industry member in response to a direct inquiry from a consumer
2received by telephone, by mail, by electronic inquiry or in person
3does not constitute a thing of value or prohibited inducement to
4the listed off-sale retailer, provided all of the following conditions
5are met:
6(1) The listing does not also contain the retail price of the
7product.
8(2) The listing is
the only reference to the off-sale retailers in
9the direct communication.
10(3) The listing does not refer only to one off-sale retailer or only
11to off-sale retail establishments controlled directly or indirectly
12by the same off-sale retailer.
13(4) The listing is made by, or produced by, or paid for,
14exclusively by the nonretail industry member making the response.
15(b) For the purposes of this section, “nonretail industry member”
16is defined as a manufacturer, including, but not limited to, a beer
17manufacturer, winegrower, or distiller of alcoholic beverages, or
18an agent of those entities, or a wholesaler, regardless of any other
19licenses held directly or indirectly by that person.
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