BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 973
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Date of Hearing: April 8, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION
Adam Gray, Chair
AB 973
(Gray) - As Introduced February 26, 2015
SUBJECT: Alcoholic beverages: tied-house restrictions:
on-sale and off-sale retailers advertising
SUMMARY: Merges two similar tied-house exceptions (one
pertaining to "on-sale" retailers the other to "off-sale"
retailers) within the Alcoholic Beverage Control (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. Specifically, this bill:
1) Consolidates provisions within the Act pertaining to the
listing of the names, addresses, telephone numbers, email
addresses, or Internet Web site addresses, or other electronic
media, of two or more unaffiliated on-sale or off-sale retailers
selling beer, wine, or distilled spirits produced, distributed,
or imported by a nonretail industry member in response to a
direct inquiry from a consumer received by telephone, by mail,
by electronic inquiry, or in person does not constitute a thing
of value or prohibited inducement to the listed on-sale or
off-sale retailer, under specified conditions.
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2) Deletes the definition of "nonretail industry member" which
is defined as a manufacturer, including, but not limited to, a
beer manufacturer, winegrower, or distiller of alcoholic
beverages, or an agent of those entities, or a wholesaler,
regardless of any other licenses held directly or indirectly by
that person.
EXISTING LAW:
1) Establishes the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control
(ABC) and grants it exclusive authority to administer the
provisions of the 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) Existing law, known as the "Tied-house law," 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).
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3) Provides the listing of the names, addresses, telephone
numbers, or 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.
4) 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.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS:
Purpose of the bill : 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 measure is simply intended to
clean-up existing ABC statutes by consolidating into a single
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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.
Prior legislation : AB 2349 (Nestande), Chapter 374, Statutes of
2012. Made several modifications to existing tied-house
restrictions of the ABC Act to allow suppliers of wine, beer or
spirits to respond to consumer questions about where products
are available at on-sale retail establishments.
SB 1423 (Chesbro), Chapter 205, Statutes of 2000. Authorized
wineries and brandy manufacturers to advertise the name and
location of restaurants that sell their products.
SB 1233 (Chesbro), Chapter 666, Statutes of 1999. Allowed for
the limited dissemination of information regarding the off-sale
availability of alcoholic beverages.
AB 2777 (Granlund), Chapter 980, Statutes of 2000. Among other
things, broadened an existing tied-house exception relating to
the purchase of alcoholic beverage advertisements at specified
venues to include distilled spirits manufacturers. In addition,
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authorized a non-retail alcohol industry member to list
specified information relating to the availability of alcoholic
beverages at no more than two restaurants in response to a
direct inquiry from a consumer received by telephone, mail, or
the Internet.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
California Beer and Beverage Distributors
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by:Eric Johnson / G.O. / (916) 319-2531
AB 973
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