BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  SB 39
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   July 6, 2011

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Felipe Fuentes, Chair

                     SB 39 (Padilla) - As Amended:  June 7, 2011 

          Policy Committee:                              Governmental 
          Organization Vote:                            14 - 0 

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program: 
          Yes    Reimbursable:              No

           SUMMARY
           
          This bill prohibits the importation, production, manufacture, 
          distribution, or sale of beer at retail establishments in 
          California if caffeine has been directly added as a separate 
          ingredient. In addition, the bill authorizes the Department of 
          Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) to require licensees to submit 
          product formulas as necessary to implement and enforce this law.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          ABC investigations are primarily complaint driven.  Therefore 
          any enforcement of this legislation would be through complaints. 
          ABC does not anticipate a high volume of complaints about 
          caffeinated beer. Therefore, the costs associated with ABC 
          investigating complaints, reviewing product formulas, and 
          possibly having products tested, would be minor and absorbable 
          within existing resources.

           COMMENTS  

           1)Purpose  .  The intent is to ban caffeinated alcoholic drinks in 
            California.  The author and supporters contend these drinks 
            are unsafe and should not be available in the state. 

            The author points out that caffeinated alcoholic drinks have 
            made headlines over the past year including an 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., New York, 
            Massachusetts, Michigan, Kansas, Utah, Oklahoma, and 
            Washington) have taken steps to ban the products.








                                                                  SB 39
                                                                  Page  2


            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 indicates 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 they are capable of 
            engaging in potentially dangerous activities, such as 
            operating a motor vehicle or engaging in risky sexual 
            behavior.

           2)Prior Legislation  . In 2010, AB 1598 (Beall) would have 
            prohibited the sale, production, importation, manufacture or 
            distribution of a caffeinated malted beverage, as defined. 
            That bill passage in Assembly G.O. Committee.
           Analysis Prepared by  :    Julie Salley-Gray / APPR. / (916) 
          319-2081