BILL ANALYSIS
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1470
Author: Evans (D)
Amended: 8/19/09 in Senate
Vote: 21
SEN. GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION. COMMITTEE : 11-0, 7/8/09
AYES: Wright, Harman, Benoit, Calderon, Denham, Florez,
Negrete McLeod, Padilla, Price, Wyland, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Oropeza, Wiggins
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 7 8-0, 6/1/09 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Alcoholic beverage licensees
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill permits an on-sale beer and wine
public premises licensee to allow a person who has
purchased and partially consumed a bottle of wine to remove
the partially consumed bottle from the premises upon
departure.
ANALYSIS : Existing law establishes the Department of
Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) and grants its executive
authority to administer the provisions of the Alcoholic
Beverage Control Act (Act) in accordance with laws enacted
by the Legislature.
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AB 1470
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Existing law provides that any "on-sale" licensee, who
maintains a bona fide eating place in conjunction with such
license, or any winegrower that is exercising a privilege,
as defined, may allow any person who has purchased and
partially consumed a bottle of wine to remove such
partially consumed bottle from the premises upon departure.
The words "On-Sale" on an alcoholic beverage license means
the license privilege is for alcoholic beverages sold on
the premises to be consumed on the premises. (On-sale
licenses also carry some off-sale privileges as specified
in the Act.)
The words "Off-Sale" on an alcoholic beverage license means
the license privilege is for alcoholic beverages to be sold
in original, unopened packages for consumption off the
premises where sold.
The Act defines "bona fide public eating place" to mean a
place which is regularly and in a bona fide manner used and
kept open for the serving of meals to guests for
compensation and which has suitable kitchen facilities
connected therewith, containing conveniences for cooking an
assortment of foods which may be required for ordinary
meals, the kitchen of which must be kept in a sanitary
condition with the proper amount of refrigeration for
keeping of foods on said premises and must comply with all
the regulations of the local department of health.
Comments
According to the author's office, this bill is intended to
fill a gap in current law in order to promote responsible
consumption of alcohol by wine bar patrons. Under current
law, partially consumed wine bottles can be removed from an
o-sale licensed premise, only if it also contains a
restaurant or if the licensee is a winegrower. In essence,
a restaurant or winery customer could purchase a bottle of
wine, elect to drink some of the contents, and then put the
cork back in to take the bottle home to drink later. This
bill extends this same take home privilege to wine bar
customers.
Proponents of this bill note that in recent years Type 42
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wine bars have sprung up in many urban settings and believe
that wine bar patrons should be afforded the option to
"brown bag" an unfinished bottle of wine.
The ABC reports that there are approximately 1,400 on-sale
beer and wine public premise licenses (Type 42) in the
state. The Type 42 license authorizes the sale of beer and
wine for consumption on or off the premises where sold. No
distilled spirits may be on the premises. A large number
of these licenses are operating as specialty wine shops
and/or wine bars.
Prior/Related Legislation
AB 2004 (Evans), Chapter 127, Statutes of 2008 . Authorized
licensed winegrowers to sell wine to consumers for
consumption on the premises. Also, granted any winegrower
the same privilege that is currently available to any
on-sale licensee which maintains a restaurant that permits
the licensee to allow a patron to remove from the premises
upon departure, a bottle of wine that has been opened
(partially consumed).
SB 1262 (Beverly), Chapter 72, Statutes of 1980 . Permitted
a restaurant patron who has purchased and partially
consumed a bottle of wine to remove such bottle form the
licensed premises.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/18/09)
Wine Institute
Family Winemakers of California
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Bill Berryhill,
Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Blumenfield, Brownley,
Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter, Chesbro,
Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon, DeVore,
Duvall, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong,
Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick,
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AB 1470
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Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill,
Huber, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Krekorian, Lieu,
Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning,
Nava, Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, John A. Perez, V. Manuel
Perez, Portantino, Price, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva,
Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Audra Strickland, Swanson,
Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran, Villines, Yamada, Bass
NO VOTE RECORDED: Beall, Block
TSM:cm 8/19/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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