BILL ANALYSIS �
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 39
Author: Padilla (D), et al
Amended: 3/23/11
Vote: 21
SENATE GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION COMM : 8-3, 03/22/11
AYES: Wright, Calderon, Corbett, De Le�n, Evans, Padilla,
Wyland, Yee
NOES: Anderson, Cannella, Strickland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Berryhill, Hernandez
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SUBJECT : Alcoholic beverages: caffeinated beer beverages
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill prohibits the import, production,
manufacture, distribution, or sale of caffeinated beer
beverages at retail locations within California.
ANALYSIS : Existing law:
The enactment of the 21st Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution in 1933 repealed the 18th Amendment and ended
the era of Prohibition. Accordingly, states were granted
the authority to establish alcoholic beverage laws and
administrative structures to regulate the sale and
distribution of alcoholic beverages. In California, this
responsibility was originally entrusted to the State Board
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of Equalization. In 1955, however, the State Constitution
was amended to shift this responsibility to the newly
established Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC).
Existing law grants ABC exclusive authority to administer
the provisions of the Act in accordance with laws enacted
by the Legislature.
Existing law recognizes three types of alcoholic beverages
for tax purposes, namely, distilled spirits, beer, and wine
and the definitions of beer, wine, and distilled spirits
are found in the ABC Act. Existing law defines "Beer" as
any alcoholic beverage obtained by the fermentation of any
infusion or decoction of barley, malt, hops, or any other
similar product, or any combination thereof in water, and
includes ale, porter, brown, stout, lager beer, small beer,
and strong beer but does not include sake, known as
Japanese rice wine.
Existing law provides that any container of beer or
alcoholic beverage, other than sake, that is approved for
labeling as a malt beverage under the Federal Alcohol
Administration (FAA) Act, that derives 0.5% or more of its
alcoholic content by volume from flavors or other
ingredients containing distilled alcohol and that is sold
within this state on or after July 1, 2009, shall bear a
distinctive, conspicuous, and prominently displayed label,
or firmly affixed sticker, as defined.
Existing law prohibits the use in any advertisement of
alcoholic beverages, of any subject matter, language or
slogans addressed to and intended to encourage minors to
drink alcoholic beverages.
Existing law provides that consumer advertising specialties
furnished by a beer manufacturer are intended only for
adults of legal drinking age and prohibits the use of coin
banks, toys, balloons, magic tricks, miniature bottles or
cans, confections, dolls or other items that appeal to
minors or underage drinkers in connection with the
merchandising of beer.
Existing federal law:
The Treasury Department's Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade
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Bureau (TTB) is responsible for implementing and enforcing
a broad range of statutory and compliance provisions and
ensuring that alcohol products are created, labeled, and
marketed in accordance with the FAA Act. While TTB
regulates the labeling of alcoholic beverages, it is the
Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) responsibility to
evaluate the safety of ingredients added to alcoholic
beverages, pursuant to FDA's authority under the Federal
Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Labeling and formulation
approval requirements can be found in Title 27 of the Code
of Federal Regulations.
This bill prohibits the import, production, manufacture,
distribution, or sale of "caffeinated beer beverages" at
retail locations within California.
This bill:
1.Stipulates that caffeinated beer beverages shall not be
imported into this state, produced, manufactured, or
distributed within this state, or sold by a licensed
retailer within this state.
2.Defines "caffeinated beer beverage" to mean a beer for
which the manufacturer has filed with the United States
Alcohol and Tobacco Trade and Tax Bureau as an
ingredient, directly added caffeine, and clarifies it not
intended to apply to any beer that has an incidental
amount of caffeine as a constituent of a natural
ingredient, such as coffee, chocolate, or tea.
Comments
Caffeinated alcoholic drinks have made headlines over the
past year including a highly publicized incident at Central
Washington University involving approximately 10 students
who were hospitalized after drinking a product called "Four
Loko" at a party. Some states (e.g., Massachusetts,
Michigan and Washington) have even taken steps to ban the
products.
Advocates of limited government are quoted as saying, "The
government has gone too far and it's time the FDA started
treating consumers old enough to buy alcoholic beverages as
adults." Critics have also noted that a number of popular
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sodas (e.g., Mountain Dew, Dr. Pepper and Coke Zero) and an
array of other well-known caffeinated drinks remain on
store shelves. Health officials on the other hand, speak
out against the dangers of mixing alcohol and caffeine and
cite various studies that point to the dangers of such
drinks.
According to the author's office, combining alcohol with
caffeine and other stimulants does not ameliorate alcohol's
negative effects on one's motor coordination and visual
reaction times. Recent science has revealed that adding
caffeine and other stimulants to alcohol is harmful because
these additives impair one's ability to judge their own
level of intoxication as well as the ability to judge the
level of intoxication in someone else. This results in
increased alcohol consumption and can lead drinkers to
wrongly conclude that they are capable of engaging in risky
and potentially dangerous activities, like operating a
motor vehicle or engaging in risky sexual behavior.
The author's office emphasizes that there is no general
consensus among health professionals and the scientific
research community that the use of caffeine in alcoholic
beverages has been demonstrated to be safe. On the
contrary, these alcoholic beverages have been associated
with dangerous behaviors.
Prior/Related Legislation
AB 1598 (Beall), 2009-10 Session, prohibited the sale,
production, importation, manufacture or distribution of a
caffeinated malted beverage, as defined. (Failed passage
in Assembly G.O. Committee)
AB 346 (Beall), Chapter 624, Statutes of 2008, requires
that any container of beer or alcoholic beverage that
derives 0.5% or more of its alcoholic content by volume
from flavors or other ingredients containing distilled
alcohol and that is sold by a manufacturer or importer to a
wholesaler or retailer within this state to bear a label or
a firmly affixed sticker that includes specified
information regarding its alcohol content and its status as
an alcoholic beverage.
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AB 345 (Saldana), 2007-08 Session, required the State Board
of Equalization (BOE), for calendar years beginning on or
after January 1, 2008, to calculate the total amount of all
surtaxes, interest, and penalties that would be collected
as a result of a reclassification of any alcoholic beverage
from beer to a distilled spirit, as specified. (Died in
Assembly G.O. Committee)
AB 417 (Aghazarian), of the 2005-06 Session, modified the
definition of beer to include any alcoholic beverage that
qualifies as a malt beverage under federal law. (Vetoed,
in his veto message, the Governor encouraged "All
interested parties, particularly health professionals, law
enforcement and the producers of flavored malt beverages,
to use this opportunity for public debate and serious
consideration of the policy issues surrounding this
beverage.")
AB 1657 (Chan), 2003-04 Session, limited the sale of any
prepackaged alcoholic beverage product made with a
"gelatin" base to businesses that prohibit the presence of
persons under the age of 21 on the premises. (Failed
passage in Senate G.O. Committee)
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 4/11/11)
Alameda County
California Association of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse
Counselors
California Medical Association
California Narcotic Officers Association
California Police Chiefs Association
California Society of Addiction Medicine
City of Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer
Consumer Federation of California
County Alcohol and Drug Program Administrators Association
of California
Mothers Against Drunk Driving
Village Nation
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ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The Alameda County Board of
Supervisors states, "There are currently a number of
caffeinated malt beverage products on the market that are
targeted in packaging and advertising to young people and
these products impair the ability of a person to judge
their own level of intoxication or to judge the
intoxication of someone else. SB 39 will help reduce the
rates of alcohol-related traffic accidents, violence,
sexual assaults, and suicides, particularly among young
people."
PQ:nl 4/13/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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