BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
605 (Portantino)
Hearing Date: 08/02/2010 Amended: 08/02/2010
Consultant: Maureen Ortiz Policy Vote: GO 8-1
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BILL SUMMARY: AB 605 authorizes off-sale retail licensees to
hold instructional tastings of alcoholic beverages under
specified circumstances.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 Fund
Admin/enforcement -------potentially $300
annually offset by
fee revenue------ Special*
*Alcoholic Beverage Control Fund
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STAFF COMMENTS:
The initial license application fee is $300 and the renewal is
$261 which will be subject to an annual CPI adjustment to be
consistent with renewals of other ABC licenses. The cost and
revenue estimate above is based on one thousand off-sale
licensees applying for an instructional tasting license. The
fee revenue would be sufficient for all costs incurred by the
Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) for the
administration and enforcement of the licenses. The actual
number of applications could be significantly fewer, especially
in the initial years.
AB 605 will authorize the ABC to issue any off-sale retail
licensee an instructional tasting license for premises operated
in conjunction with the off-sale licensed premises with the
following conditions:
a)A tasting license is prohibited at locations where motor
vehicle fuel is sold, unless the licensee operates a fully
enclosed off-sale retail area encompassing at least 10,000
square feet.
b)A tasting license is prohibited at locations with a total of
less than 5,000 square feet of interior retail space, unless
the annual gross sales of alcoholic beverages at the licensed
location comprise at least 75 percent of the total gross
sales.
c)The area where the instructional event is conducted must be
within the interior of the existing licensed premises, but
separated by a wall, rope, cable, cord, chain, fence, or other
barrier.
d)A sign must be posted prohibiting the presence of persons
under 21 years of age from entering the area.
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AB 605 (Portantino)
e)Consumers attending the tasting are prohibited from leaving
the area with an alcoholic beverage.
f)The instructional events are limited to being held between the
hours of 10 a.m. and 9 p.m.
g)Each consumer is limited to three tastings per day of wine or
distilled spirits. A single tasting of distilled spirits
shall not exceed one-fourth of one ounce, and a wine sample
shall not exceed one ounce. An instructional tasting of beer
shall be limited to not more than the tasting of eight ounces
of beer per person per day.
h)All tastings must be served by an employee of the authorized
licensee, or by the designated representative or the employee
of the designated representative.
i)No charge will be allowed for the tastings.
j)An instructional event must be limited to a single type of
alcoholic beverage.
Other stipulations include licensees are prohibited from giving
away products to consumers who attend the tastings, notification
must be provided to neighbors within 500 feet, local law
enforcement, and local governments before a license is granted,
and the ABC has the right to deny issuing a license if an undue
concentration of licensees already exists in the area.
Instructional events can be held on the subject of wine, beer,
or distilled spirits. The bill is intended to provide wineries
and manufacturers of beer and distilled spirits that have a
geographical disadvantage with the opportunity to bring their
products to consumers and provide sample tastings along with
instructional materials.